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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — to go on
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. club — for dancing
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. club — a group
  8. wound — an injury
  9. swing — in golf
  10. club — for golf
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. wound — an injury
  14. swing — to play on
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — to come from
  17. last — finally
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. swing — music
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — to trim
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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