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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  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. spell — letters
  2. prune — to trim
  3. spell — magic
  4. prune — to trim
  5. deal — to handle
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. ground — crushed
  9. spell — a short time
  10. ground — a position
  11. fall — the season
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. fall — to drop
  14. snap — to click
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. fall — to drop
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. wind — moving air
  22. ground — the earth
  23. wind — to turn a key
  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