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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. tube — a container
  6. prune — to trim
  7. spell — magic
  8. fall — the season
  9. rule — government
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. branch — a division
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — to drop
  17. rule — a law
  18. tube — the underground
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bass — low music
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. spell — letters
  24. prune — to trim

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