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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 120 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. pitch — completely
  3. cold — an illness
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. board — a committee
  7. rash — a series
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. rash — hasty
  16. cold — not warm
  17. board — to get on
  18. spell — a short time
  19. vault — a safe
  20. spell — magic
  21. season — in sport
  22. spell — letters
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. season — to add flavour

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