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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. spell — a short time
  3. tube — the underground
  4. hand — in cards
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. spell — magic
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. pass — a permit
  10. chest — of your body
  11. mark — a grade
  12. prune — to trim
  13. cell — in biology
  14. prune — to trim
  15. cell — a phone
  16. tube — a container
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. mark — a trace
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. hand — help
  22. chest — a box
  23. tube — in a tire
  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