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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. tear — from crying
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spell — letters
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bark — to shout
  7. squash — the sport
  8. spell — magic
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. spring — the season
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. toast — bread
  14. tear — from crying
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. wind — moving air
  20. spell — a short time
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. squash — to crush
  23. tear — to rip
  24. spring — of water

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