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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.

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: field · season · fine · lash · file · cold · prune · chip

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. cold — not warm
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. field — a subject
  5. season — in sport
  6. fine — high quality
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. file — a tool
  9. season — of the year
  10. field — farmland
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. field — for sport
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. file — a line of people
  17. chip — for betting
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. file — a document
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. chip — to eat
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — an illness
  24. fine — all right

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