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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  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. object — to protest
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. spell — letters
  4. last — to go on
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. last — finally
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. prune — to trim
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. last — final
  13. spell — a short time
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. object — an aim
  21. object — a thing
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. prune — to trim
  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