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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · arm · ball · prune · spring · fine · last · content

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. spring — of water
  3. last — to go on
  4. spell — letters
  5. prune — to trim
  6. fine — all right
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. spell — a short time
  9. spring — a coil
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. ball — a great time
  12. last — final
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. content — the amount
  15. ball — a dance
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. content — happy
  19. last — finally
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. fine — high quality
  22. spell — magic
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. spring — the season

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