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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. wind — moving air
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. stem — to come from
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. saw — the tool
  8. cue — for pool
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. spell — a short time
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. spell — letters
  13. prune — to trim
  14. spell — magic
  15. wind — moving air
  16. roll — a cake
  17. cue — a signal
  18. prune — to trim
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. cue — a hint
  24. roll — a list

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