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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 116 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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. content — the amount
  3. prune — to trim
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. cue — a signal
  6. prune — to trim
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. spell — magic
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. cue — for pool
  18. spell — a short time
  19. march — music
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. sharp — clever
  22. content — happy
  23. cue — a hint
  24. fan — a supporter

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