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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bound — tied together
  4. rest — what's left
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. bound — obliged
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. last — final
  9. prune — to trim
  10. object — a thing
  11. bound — certain
  12. fine — high quality
  13. rest — a break
  14. object — an aim
  15. race — a contest
  16. cold — an illness
  17. last — to go on
  18. race — humankind
  19. cold — not warm
  20. rest — what's left
  21. object — to protest
  22. race — the arms race
  23. fine — all right
  24. cold — the Cold War

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