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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. spell — a short time
  3. shower — rain
  4. pop — soda
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. spell — letters
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. swing — music
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. prune — to trim
  13. spell — magic
  14. swing — to play on
  15. pop — to visit
  16. snap — to click
  17. shower — to wash
  18. prune — to trim
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. fine — all right
  21. swing — in golf
  22. pop — music
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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