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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — an illness
  4. spell — magic
  5. prune — to trim
  6. content — the amount
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. tear — from crying
  11. prune — to trim
  12. firm — steady
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. content — happy
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. firm — decided
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. firm — a company
  20. spell — letters
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — to rip
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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