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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. spell — letters
  3. mug — a face
  4. prune — to trim
  5. spell — magic
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. squash — the sport
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. wind — moving air
  11. can — to be able to
  12. mug — to rob
  13. squash — to crush
  14. last — final
  15. can — a tin
  16. mug — a cup
  17. wind — moving air
  18. last — to go on
  19. can — a tin
  20. spell — a short time
  21. prune — to trim
  22. stem — to come from
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. last — finally

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