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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mug · lean · field · season · wind · pit · prune · file

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. field — a subject
  3. prune — to trim
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. prune — to trim
  8. field — farmland
  9. lean — to bend
  10. pit — in a race
  11. file — a document
  12. pit — a hole
  13. mug — a face
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. mug — to rob
  16. wind — moving air
  17. season — in sport
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a line of people
  21. wind — moving air
  22. lean — thin
  23. season — of the year
  24. field — for 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