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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. scale — size or range
  3. spell — a short time
  4. fall — to drop
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. fall — the season
  7. swing — in golf
  8. pound — a weight
  9. swing — to play on
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. chair — a leader
  13. swing — music
  14. prune — to trim
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. scale — in music
  17. fall — to drop
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. spell — magic
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. tube — a container
  22. tube — the underground
  23. prune — to trim
  24. tube — in a tire

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