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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 120 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. scale — in music
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. prune — to trim
  5. tube — a container
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. season — in sport
  8. wind — moving air
  9. tube — the underground
  10. last — finally
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. season — of the year
  13. last — final
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. kick — in football
  20. scale — size or range
  21. lean — thin
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. lean — to bend
  24. kick — with a leg

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