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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: prune · cold · season · chair · arm · pound · vault · toast

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. cold — an illness
  3. season — of the year
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. toast — bread
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. cold — not warm
  12. season — in sport
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. prune — to trim
  20. chair — a leader
  21. vault — a safe
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. chair — a professorship

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