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

Word bank: cell · spell · tear · wind · nail · jam · swing · prune

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. spell — letters
  5. swing — music
  6. tear — from crying
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. tear — to rip
  9. cell — a phone
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. spell — magic
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. cell — in biology
  16. swing — to play on
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. tear — from crying
  19. swing — in golf
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. spell — a short time
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. wind — moving air

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