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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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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: ground · prune · snap · last · stand · season · key · tear

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. last — finally
  3. last — final
  4. stand — to bear
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. snap — to click
  7. key — for a lock
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. key — in music
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. season — of the year
  12. ground — the earth
  13. key — the most important part
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. tear — from crying
  16. last — to go on
  17. ground — a position
  18. prune — to trim
  19. tear — from crying
  20. season — in sport
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. tear — to rip
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. ground — crushed

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