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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: spell · charge · fine · saw · prune · straw · land · file

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. prune — to trim
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. fine — all right
  5. spell — letters
  6. fine — high quality
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. land — to come down
  10. charge — electricity
  11. charge — a price
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. land — ground
  16. file — a document
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a line of people
  20. charge — in control
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. spell — a short time
  24. land — a country

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