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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 asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. band — a music group
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. spell — letters
  9. net — for catching
  10. prune — to trim
  11. spell — a short time
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mark — a grade
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. prune — to trim
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mark — a trace
  20. net — after costs
  21. wax — to grow
  22. band — a ring
  23. net — in sport
  24. tear — from crying

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