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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 116 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 · straw · cold · prune · drill · stick · cabinet · rash

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. prune — to trim
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. drill — a practice
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. cold — an illness
  13. drill — the tool
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. rash — hasty
  17. prune — to trim
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. rash — a series
  20. spell — a short time
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. spell — magic
  24. drill — army training

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