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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. bound — obliged
  3. key — in music
  4. spell — magic
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. key — the most important part
  8. perch — the fish
  9. bound — certain
  10. scale — size or range
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — in cards
  14. spell — letters
  15. scale — in music
  16. prune — to trim
  17. hand — help
  18. key — for a lock
  19. march — music
  20. march — the month
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. march — the month
  23. bound — tied together
  24. prune — to trim

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