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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. content — happy
  3. last — finally
  4. mate — a friend
  5. content — the amount
  6. prune — to trim
  7. last — final
  8. roll — a list
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. firm — a company
  13. season — of the year
  14. firm — steady
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. last — to go on
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. mate — a partner
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. prune — to trim
  21. season — in sport
  22. roll — a cake
  23. mate — to breed
  24. content — videos and posts

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