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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 120 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 · mark · club · kid · row · racket · prune · hand

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. spell — magic
  3. hand — help
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. prune — to trim
  8. mark — a grade
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. kid — to tease
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. row — to paddle
  13. spell — letters
  14. row — a line
  15. club — a group
  16. spell — a short time
  17. kid — child
  18. hand — in cards
  19. club — for golf
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. mark — a trace
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. club — for dancing

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