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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. staff — employees
  3. spell — magic
  4. last — final
  5. game — a match
  6. spell — a short time
  7. capital — a city
  8. staff — a stick
  9. prune — to trim
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. staff — employees
  15. last — to go on
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. game — wild animals
  18. last — finally
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. craft — boats
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. craft — a skill
  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