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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. prune — to trim
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. firm — a company
  5. bat — the animal
  6. spell — a short time
  7. vault — a safe
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. firm — decided
  10. current — of water
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. cold — an illness
  13. spell — letters
  14. firm — steady
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. current — happening now
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. prune — to trim
  21. cold — not warm
  22. current — electric
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. cold — the Cold War

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