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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: hand · pit · bear · dip · staff · season · file · prune

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. staff — a stick
  6. pit — in a race
  7. hand — in cards
  8. file — a line of people
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. dip — to sink
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. staff — employees
  14. staff — employees
  15. bear — the animal
  16. file — a tool
  17. bear — the animal
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. pit — a hole
  21. file — a document
  22. prune — to trim
  23. season — in sport
  24. season — to add flavour

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