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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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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. foot — a measure
  4. race — a contest
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. last — final
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — money
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. net — for catching
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. race — the arms race
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. net — in sport
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. net — after costs
  18. race — humankind
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. prune — to trim
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. last — finally
  23. capital — a city
  24. last — to go on

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