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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. mug — a face
  3. firm — decided
  4. prune — to trim
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. cold — not warm
  8. spring — of water
  9. spell — magic
  10. spring — the season
  11. firm — a company
  12. cold — an illness
  13. firm — steady
  14. bass — the fish
  15. toast — bread
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. spell — a short time
  19. prune — to trim
  20. mug — to rob
  21. bass — low music
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. spring — a coil
  24. mug — a cup

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