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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. mug — to rob
  3. mug — a face
  4. spell — magic
  5. last — to go on
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. last — finally
  8. stem — to come from
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. mug — a cup
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. spell — a short time
  14. wind — moving air
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. last — final
  17. prune — to trim
  18. wind — moving air

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