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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: kid · bass · mate · lie · stick · file · season · prune

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — in sport
  4. mate — a friend
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. file — a line of people
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. prune — to trim
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. kid — child
  13. file — a document
  14. mate — a partner
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bass — low music
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. file — a tool
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bass — the fish
  22. mate — to breed
  23. prune — to trim
  24. lie — to recline

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