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

Word bank: lean · season · object · last · prune · field

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. last — final
  3. season — in sport
  4. lean — to bend
  5. season — of the year
  6. last — to go on
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. field — a subject
  10. lean — thin
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. field — farmland
  13. last — finally
  14. prune — to trim
  15. object — an aim
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. object — to protest
  18. object — a thing

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