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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. cap — a lid
  3. spell — a short time
  4. face — to point toward
  5. spell — magic
  6. cap — of ice
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. drill — a practice
  9. race — a contest
  10. ball — a dance
  11. ball — a great time
  12. drill — army training
  13. cap — a hat
  14. spell — letters
  15. dip — to sink
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. prune — to trim
  18. race — humankind
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. drill — the tool
  21. face — to confront
  22. face — part of the head
  23. race — the arms race
  24. prune — the fruit

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