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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fork · toast · squash · current · prune · tear · bat · spell

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. fork — in a road
  3. current — of water
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. tear — from crying
  7. current — happening now
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. bat — the animal
  10. spell — letters
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. prune — to trim
  13. tear — from crying
  14. squash — the sport
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. current — electric
  17. squash — to crush
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. toast — bread
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. tear — to rip
  22. spell — magic
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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