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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: season · date · cold · prune · lash · can · coach · firm

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. firm — a company
  5. season — in sport
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. prune — to trim
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. can — to be able to
  13. cold — an illness
  14. prune — to trim
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. season — of the year
  17. date — the fruit
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. can — a tin
  21. cold — not warm
  22. firm — decided
  23. can — a tin
  24. firm — steady

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