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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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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 · squash · prune · lie · cold · snap · wave · temple

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. lie — to recline
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. squash — the sport
  6. snap — to click
  7. spell — a short time
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. prune — to trim
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. squash — to crush
  17. spell — letters
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — not warm
  24. lie — an untruth

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