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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. last — to go on
  3. ground — a position
  4. last — final
  5. prune — to trim
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. content — the amount
  8. rock — a stone
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. content — happy
  11. land — ground
  12. mine — for digging
  13. ground — crushed
  14. ground — the earth
  15. last — finally
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. land — to come down
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. land — a country

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