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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. swing — to play on
  3. spell — letters
  4. prune — to trim
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. roll — a cake
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bound — certain
  9. bound — obliged
  10. wind — moving air
  11. prune — to trim
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. swing — music
  17. spell — magic
  18. bound — tied together
  19. roll — a list
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. swing — in golf
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. wind — moving air

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