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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — letters
  3. pit — in a race
  4. pit — a hole
  5. spell — a short time
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. race — a contest
  11. drill — the tool
  12. race — the arms race
  13. net — after costs
  14. drill — a practice
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. march — music
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. net — in sport
  20. prune — to trim
  21. drill — army training
  22. prune — to trim
  23. net — for catching
  24. race — humankind

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