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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 116 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. spell — letters
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. spell — a short time
  6. shower — rain
  7. spell — magic
  8. fine — high quality
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. bore — to drill
  11. wind — moving air
  12. lean — to bend
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. scale — in music
  15. lean — thin
  16. bore — to tire
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. scale — size or range
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. fine — all right
  21. wind — moving air
  22. prune — to trim
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. shower — to wash

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