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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. spell — a short time
  4. prune — to trim
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. prune — to trim
  7. spring — the season
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. track — to keep track
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — a box
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. ball — a great time
  15. chest — of your body
  16. dip — to sink
  17. spell — magic
  18. spring — of water
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. spring — a coil
  22. track — a song
  23. track — a path
  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