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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. spell — magic
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. prune — to trim
  6. tear — to rip
  7. spell — a short time
  8. spell — letters
  9. tear — from crying
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. hand — help
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. tear — from crying
  16. row — to paddle
  17. prune — to trim
  18. hand — in cards

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