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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. spell — letters
  3. firm — decided
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. prune — to trim
  6. season — in sport
  7. band — a music group
  8. chair — a leader
  9. wound — an injury
  10. key — for a lock
  11. key — the most important part
  12. firm — steady
  13. band — a ring
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. key — in music
  19. spell — a short time
  20. season — of the year
  21. spell — magic
  22. firm — a company
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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