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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. spell — letters
  3. wind — moving air
  4. spell — magic
  5. dip — to sink
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bat — the animal
  10. spring — of water
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. spell — a short time
  15. prune — to trim
  16. spring — a coil
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. spring — the season
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. dip — to dunk

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