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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. spell — magic
  3. saw — the tool
  4. row — a line
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. track — to keep track
  7. race — a contest
  8. race — humankind
  9. saw — the tool
  10. spell — letters
  11. plane — a tool
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. track — a song
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. track — a path
  19. row — to paddle
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. prune — to trim
  23. race — the arms race
  24. prune — the fruit

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