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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 116 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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. file — a line of people
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. prune — to trim
  6. march — the month
  7. cue — a signal
  8. spell — letters
  9. spell — magic
  10. cue — a hint
  11. spell — a short time
  12. file — a document
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. march — the month
  15. snap — to click
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. shower — rain
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. cue — for pool
  20. shower — to wash
  21. file — a tool
  22. wake — a trail
  23. march — music
  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