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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: net · ball · season · spring · stand · leaves · prune · file

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. prune — to trim
  4. spring — the season
  5. season — in sport
  6. spring — a coil
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. season — of the year
  11. ball — a dance
  12. ball — a great time
  13. file — a document
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. prune — to trim
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. net — after costs
  18. net — in sport
  19. stand — to bear
  20. spring — of water
  21. net — for catching
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a tool

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