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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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Word bank
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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: season · file · ball · race · fan · lean · prune · last

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. ball — a great time
  3. last — final
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. race — a contest
  7. file — a line of people
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. lean — thin
  10. file — a tool
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. race — the arms race
  14. last — to go on
  15. lean — to bend
  16. ball — a dance
  17. race — humankind
  18. file — a document
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. season — of the year
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — to trim
  24. season — in sport

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