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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. spell — letters
  6. prune — to trim
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. press — to push
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. prune — to trim
  13. hand — help
  14. spell — magic
  15. press — newspapers
  16. hand — in cards
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. spell — a short time
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. fork — in a road
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. press — a publisher
  24. calf — of the leg

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