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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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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. ground — a position
  3. prune — to trim
  4. ground — crushed
  5. tear — from crying
  6. snap — to click
  7. spell — magic
  8. ground — the earth
  9. firm — a company
  10. tear — to rip
  11. prune — to trim
  12. firm — decided
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. tear — from crying
  15. firm — steady
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. spell — a short time

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