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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — to trim
  4. press — to push
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bark — to shout
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. present — a gift
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. press — a publisher
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. spell — a short time
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. present — the time now
  19. spell — letters
  20. bass — the fish
  21. press — newspapers
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. present — there
  24. bass — low music

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