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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. spell — a short time
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. cue — a signal
  6. prune — to trim
  7. cell — a phone
  8. bat — the animal
  9. mug — a face
  10. cue — for pool
  11. mug — a cup
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. spell — letters
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. mug — to rob
  17. cell — in biology
  18. spell — magic

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