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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. spell — magic
  3. swing — to play on
  4. last — to go on
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. spell — a short time
  7. prune — to trim
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. swing — in golf
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. last — finally
  15. prune — to trim
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. spell — letters
  19. pass — a permit
  20. cold — an illness
  21. lie — to recline
  22. last — final
  23. swing — music
  24. cold — not warm

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