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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 · vault · season · suit · chair · face · cold · cap

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. season — of the year
  3. face — to confront
  4. season — in sport
  5. prune — to trim
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. chair — a leader
  9. cold — an illness
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. prune — to trim
  13. face — to point toward
  14. cold — not warm
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. vault — a safe
  18. cap — of ice
  19. suit — clothes
  20. cap — a lid
  21. suit — in cards
  22. suit — to fit
  23. face — part of the head
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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