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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. spring — the season
  4. present — the time now
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. dip — to sink
  7. spell — letters
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. prune — to trim
  12. spring — a coil
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. spring — of water
  18. squash — the sport
  19. spell — a short time
  20. present — there
  21. present — a gift
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. squash — to crush

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