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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. spell — letters
  3. squash — to crush
  4. prune — to trim
  5. lean — thin
  6. row — a line
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. prune — to trim
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. spell — magic
  11. squash — the sport
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. club — for golf
  14. row — to paddle
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. branch — a division
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. spell — a short time
  20. lean — to bend
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. club — for dancing
  24. squash — the vegetable

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