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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. lean — to bend
  3. drill — the tool
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. drill — a practice
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. spell — letters
  8. lean — thin
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. capital — money
  11. game — a match
  12. prune — to trim
  13. game — wild animals
  14. drill — army training
  15. prune — to trim
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. spell — a short time

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