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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. spell — magic
  4. cold — not warm
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. prune — to trim
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. spell — letters
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. spell — a short time
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. cold — an illness
  18. pitch — completely

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