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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spell · fall · stem · season · kick · prune · cold · pop

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. season — in sport
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. stem — to come from
  6. fall — the season
  7. pop — music
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. fall — to drop
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. cold — not warm
  14. spell — letters
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. pop — to visit
  17. prune — to trim
  18. spell — a short time
  19. pop — soda
  20. kick — in football
  21. prune — to trim
  22. fall — to drop
  23. season — of the year
  24. cold — an illness

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