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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. key — in music
  4. prune — to trim
  5. key — for a lock
  6. last — to go on
  7. key — the most important part
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. land — to come down
  13. last — finally
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wake — a trail
  16. land — a country
  17. land — ground
  18. bowl — a dish

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