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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. spell — magic
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. roll — a list
  11. degree — from a university
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. spell — letters
  15. degree — an amount
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. fine — high quality
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. snap — to click
  20. prune — to trim
  21. roll — a cake
  22. spell — a short time
  23. degree — temperature
  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