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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — in cards
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. hand — help
  7. spring — the season
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. season — of the year
  11. pop — music
  12. dip — to sink
  13. spring — of water
  14. pop — to visit
  15. spring — a coil
  16. prune — to trim
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. prune — to trim
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. season — in sport
  23. pop — soda
  24. wound — an injury

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com