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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mug — a cup
  4. prune — to trim
  5. mug — a face
  6. track — to keep track
  7. tear — to rip
  8. degree — from a university
  9. can — to be able to
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — letters
  12. tear — from crying
  13. prune — to trim
  14. track — a path
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — a practice
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. degree — temperature
  19. can — a tin
  20. spell — magic
  21. degree — an amount
  22. track — a song
  23. mug — to rob
  24. drill — the tool

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