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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 120 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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. 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. patient — calm and waiting
  2. spell — letters
  3. ball — a great time
  4. ground — crushed
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. ground — a position
  7. tear — from crying
  8. prune — to trim
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — a stick
  11. staff — employees
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. prune — to trim
  14. ball — a dance
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. spell — magic
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. tear — from crying
  21. ground — the earth
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. tear — to rip
  24. 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