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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 124 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. spell — letters
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. sharp — clever
  7. band — a ring
  8. land — a country
  9. land — ground
  10. rush — hurry
  11. band — a music group
  12. spell — magic
  13. prune — to trim
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. prune — to trim
  17. spell — a short time
  18. prune — the fruit

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