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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: plane · cold · prune · race · wound · bulb · chair · season

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  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. race — a contest
  2. season — of the year
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bulb — for light
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. wound — an injury
  9. plane — a tool
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. race — humankind
  13. cold — an illness
  14. race — the arms race
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. bulb — for light
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — not warm
  20. chair — a leader
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. season — to add flavour
  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