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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. saw — the tool
  3. prune — to trim
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. saw — the tool
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. spell — letters
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. cell — a phone
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. prune — to trim
  18. kick — in football
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. cell — in biology
  23. bat — the animal
  24. spell — magic

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