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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 120 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. fine — all right
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. shower — to wash
  5. race — a contest
  6. drill — army training
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. prune — to trim
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. race — humankind
  12. race — the arms race
  13. spell — a short time
  14. shower — rain
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. drill — a practice
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. foot — a measure
  22. spell — magic
  23. fine — high quality
  24. drill — the tool

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