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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. present — the time now
  3. fall — to drop
  4. present — a gift
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. fall — to drop
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. fall — the season
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. prune — to trim
  14. present — there
  15. spell — a short time
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. spell — magic
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. spell — letters
  24. hide — to keep secret

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