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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: cold · court · can · prune · hide · season · track · temple

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. track — a song
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. track — to keep track
  7. season — of the year
  8. can — a tin
  9. court — for sport
  10. cold — an illness
  11. track — a path
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. court — of a king
  16. can — a tin
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. season — in sport
  20. court — of law
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. cold — not warm

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