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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: snap · squash · prune · staff · spell · court · charge · tear

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. tear — from crying
  4. charge — a price
  5. tear — to rip
  6. charge — electricity
  7. tear — from crying
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. spell — a short time
  10. court — of law
  11. prune — to trim
  12. squash — to crush
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. spell — magic
  15. prune — to trim
  16. squash — the sport
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. charge — in control
  19. staff — employees
  20. spell — letters
  21. court — of a king
  22. staff — a stick
  23. court — for sport
  24. snap — to click

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