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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.

Make a worksheet

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: can · root · present · prune · straw · cold · spell · rash

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. present — there
  3. spell — a short time
  4. root — of a word
  5. cold — not warm
  6. can — to be able to
  7. present — a gift
  8. cold — an illness
  9. can — a tin
  10. rash — a series
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. prune — to trim
  13. rash — hasty
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. can — a tin
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. root — of a plant
  18. spell — letters
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. present — the time now
  22. prune — to trim
  23. root — the cause
  24. straw — a straw man

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