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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. drill — army training
  3. last — final
  4. last — to go on
  5. bank — for money
  6. prune — to trim
  7. ground — the earth
  8. bank — of a river
  9. bank — for money
  10. last — finally
  11. prune — to trim
  12. ground — crushed
  13. drill — a practice
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. wake — a trail
  17. ground — a position
  18. drill — the tool

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