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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. prune — to trim
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rash — hasty
  5. saw — the tool
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — crushed
  8. present — there
  9. spell — a short time
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. fine — all right
  12. spell — magic
  13. ground — the earth
  14. saw — the tool
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. present — a gift
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. rash — a series
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. fine — high quality
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. spell — letters
  23. present — the time now
  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