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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bass — low music
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. bound — tied together
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bound — obliged
  7. spell — magic
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bound — certain
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bass — the fish
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. pitch — completely
  21. spell — letters
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. spell — a short time

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