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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. mug — a face
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. shower — rain
  8. spell — letters
  9. swing — in golf
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. shower — to wash
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wax — to grow
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. spell — magic
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. mug — a cup
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. swing — music
  21. mug — to rob
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. spell — a short time

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