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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. prune — to trim
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. spell — magic
  6. mate — a friend
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. bark — to shout
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. rash — a series
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. prune — to trim
  16. mate — a partner
  17. shower — rain
  18. spell — a short time
  19. spell — letters
  20. shower — to wash
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. rash — hasty

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