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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.

Make a worksheet

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 cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. spell — a short time
  3. ball — a dance
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. ball — a great time
  7. shower — rain
  8. key — in music
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. game — wild animals
  12. key — for a lock
  13. prune — to trim
  14. shower — to wash
  15. game — a match
  16. spell — magic
  17. key — the most important part
  18. spell — letters

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