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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 120 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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. mug — a cup
  3. wake — a trail
  4. cold — an illness
  5. spell — a short time
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. squash — the sport
  9. mug — a face
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. rash — a series
  12. rash — hasty
  13. cold — not warm
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. mug — to rob
  17. spell — magic
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. squash — to crush
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. prune — to trim
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. racket — for tennis

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