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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. tear — to rip
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. tear — from crying
  7. prune — to trim
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. content — the amount
  13. spell — letters
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. date — the fruit
  17. spell — magic
  18. tear — from crying
  19. mine — for digging
  20. spell — a short time
  21. prune — to trim
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. content — happy
  24. date — on the calendar

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