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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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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: season · sharp · mate · cold · prune · roll · face · band

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. face — part of the head
  4. cold — an illness
  5. season — of the year
  6. face — to confront
  7. face — to point toward
  8. band — a ring
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. roll — a cake
  12. prune — to trim
  13. band — a music group
  14. mate — a partner
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. season — in sport
  18. mate — a friend
  19. roll — a list
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. sharp — clever
  23. mate — to breed
  24. band — a rubber band

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