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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a city
  8. last — to go on
  9. dip — to sink
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. tear — from crying
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. last — final
  17. last — finally
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. spell — letters
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. tear — to rip
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. tear — from crying
  24. spell — magic

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