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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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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: bowl · season · cold · prune · stick · last · fall · craft

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. season — in sport
  3. season — of the year
  4. prune — to trim
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. cold — an illness
  7. craft — a skill
  8. fall — to drop
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. fall — the season
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. craft — boats
  14. prune — to trim
  15. last — to go on
  16. last — final
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. last — finally

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