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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. spell — letters
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. last — finally
  5. march — music
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. march — the month
  8. spell — magic
  9. cap — a lid
  10. cap — of ice
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. last — final
  13. cap — a hat
  14. pit — a hole
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. prune — to trim
  17. game — wild animals
  18. prune — to trim
  19. plane — a tool
  20. pit — in a race
  21. game — a match
  22. last — to go on
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. march — the month

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