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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. rule — a law
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. last — finally
  5. pass — a permit
  6. last — to go on
  7. wake — a trail
  8. prune — to trim
  9. chair — a leader
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. prune — to trim
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. wound — an injury
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. last — final
  21. wound — an injury
  22. rule — government
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. chair — a professorship

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