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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. row — to paddle
  3. ball — a dance
  4. toast — bread
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. hand — help
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. prune — to trim
  13. spell — magic
  14. prune — to trim
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. ball — a great time
  17. row — a line
  18. spell — a short time
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. branch — a division
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. hand — in cards
  24. 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