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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 120 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. prune — to trim
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. spell — a short time
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. file — a tool
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. file — a document
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. mate — a partner
  13. file — a line of people
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a friend
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. prune — to trim
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. spell — magic
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. lean — to bend
  24. lean — thin

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