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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 cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. spell — magic
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. spring — of water
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. race — humankind
  7. fine — high quality
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. spring — a coil
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — a short time
  14. field — for sport
  15. race — a contest
  16. lean — thin
  17. sharp — clever
  18. field — farmland
  19. lean — to bend
  20. fine — all right
  21. field — a subject
  22. race — the arms race
  23. spring — the season
  24. sharp — with an edge

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