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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. sharp — clever
  3. march — the month
  4. spell — magic
  5. suit — to fit
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. suit — clothes
  8. perch — the fish
  9. prune — to trim
  10. suit — in cards
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spell — letters
  13. kick — in football
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. shower — rain
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. march — music
  21. prune — to trim
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. march — the month

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