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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 · spell · trunk · ground · bay · row · prune · cap

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. ground — the earth
  3. cap — of ice
  4. row — a line
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. prune — to trim
  8. cap — a hat
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. season — in sport
  11. spell — magic
  12. spell — letters
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. row — to paddle
  16. ground — crushed
  17. spell — a short time
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. ground — a position
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. season — of the year
  24. cap — a lid

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