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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: saw · prune · season · hand · bear · spell · band · game

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. bear — the animal
  3. hand — in cards
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. season — of the year
  6. saw — the tool
  7. spell — a short time
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. saw — the tool
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. spell — magic
  13. bear — the animal
  14. game — a match
  15. game — wild animals
  16. band — a music group
  17. spell — letters
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. season — in sport
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. band — a ring
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. hand — help

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