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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.

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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. prune — to trim
  3. spell — magic
  4. cold — an illness
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. rest — what's left
  7. spell — letters
  8. shower — rain
  9. net — after costs
  10. rest — a break
  11. cold — not warm
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. suit — to fit
  14. shower — to wash
  15. suit — clothes
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. rest — what's left
  18. spell — a short time
  19. suit — in cards
  20. fine — high quality
  21. net — for catching
  22. fine — all right
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. prune — to trim

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