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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: tube · stick · ground · fan · spell · wound · prune · row

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. spell — a short time
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. prune — to trim
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. tube — a container
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wound — an injury
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. spell — letters
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. wound — an injury
  17. row — a line
  18. spell — magic
  19. row — to paddle
  20. ground — a position
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. ground — the earth
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. tube — the underground

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