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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. spell — letters
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. toast — bread
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — final
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. spell — a short time
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. last — finally
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a line
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. prune — to trim
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. date — the fruit
  23. spell — magic
  24. date — on the calendar

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