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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. cap — of ice
  3. prune — to trim
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. foot — a measure
  6. vault — a safe
  7. prune — to trim
  8. spell — a short time
  9. file — a line of people
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. file — a document
  13. spell — magic
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. tube — a container
  16. tube — the underground
  17. file — a tool
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. band — a ring
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. cap — a hat
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. cap — a lid

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