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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.

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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 asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — letters
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. capital — money
  8. spell — a short time
  9. capital — a city
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. prune — to trim
  13. hand — help
  14. pass — a permit
  15. hand — in cards
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. prune — to trim
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. pass — to spend time

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