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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  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. spell — letters
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. spell — a short time
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. face — to point toward
  8. capital — money
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. face — to confront
  11. face — part of the head
  12. prune — to trim
  13. capital — a city
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. hide — to keep secret
  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