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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 120 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: chest · season · lean · march · dip · mark · prune · bat

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. mark — a grade
  3. lean — to bend
  4. chest — a box
  5. march — the month
  6. season — in sport
  7. chest — of your body
  8. march — the month
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. chest — of your body
  13. lean — thin
  14. bat — the animal
  15. season — of the year
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. dip — to sink
  22. mark — a trace
  23. march — music
  24. bat — for baseball

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