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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. spell — letters
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. shower — rain
  10. mine — for digging
  11. spell — magic
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. prune — to trim
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. cue — for pool
  18. cue — a signal
  19. shower — to wash
  20. prune — to trim
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. cue — a hint
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. spell — a short time

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