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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: prune · date · spell · rash · coach · ball · row · swing

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. rash — a series
  4. row — a line
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. row — to paddle
  7. spell — a short time
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. swing — music
  11. swing — in golf
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. rash — hasty
  14. spell — magic
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. ball — a great time
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. date — the fruit
  22. swing — to play on
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. spell — letters

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