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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pop — soda
  4. track — a path
  5. mine — for digging
  6. spell — magic
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. pop — music
  9. track — a song
  10. track — to keep track
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. spell — a short time
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. rock — a stone
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. rock — music
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. wound — an injury
  23. pop — to visit
  24. spell — letters

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