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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 120 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: prune · sharp · cold · fan · tear · club · season · deal

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. sharp — clever
  3. season — in sport
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. club — for dancing
  7. cold — an illness
  8. deal — to handle
  9. tear — from crying
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. club — a group
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. tear — from crying
  14. club — for golf
  15. cold — not warm
  16. season — of the year
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. prune — to trim
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. tear — to rip
  24. prune — to trim

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