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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: prune · shower · spring · face · mate · bowl · race · season

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. race — the arms race
  3. face — part of the head
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. mate — to breed
  6. season — in sport
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. mate — a partner
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — the season
  11. race — humankind
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — to trim
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. season — of the year
  19. face — to point toward
  20. race — a contest
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. shower — to wash
  23. mate — a friend
  24. spring — a coil

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