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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. rest — a break
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. prune — to trim
  5. rest — what's left
  6. spell — a short time
  7. rest — what's left
  8. face — to point toward
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. swing — to play on
  11. face — part of the head
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. swing — in golf
  15. court — of a king
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. prune — to trim
  18. face — to confront
  19. spell — magic
  20. court — of law
  21. stem — to come from
  22. swing — music
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. court — for sport

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