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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. prune — to trim
  4. mate — to breed
  5. fine — high quality
  6. spell — magic
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. wind — moving air
  9. prune — to trim
  10. spell — a short time
  11. kid — child
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. drill — a practice
  14. drill — the tool
  15. spell — letters
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. wind — moving air
  18. rest — a break
  19. kid — to tease
  20. mate — a partner
  21. rest — what's left
  22. drill — army training
  23. rest — what's left
  24. mate — a friend

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