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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 116 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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. last — to go on
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. last — finally
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. club — for golf
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. capital — money
  9. craft — a skill
  10. club — for dancing
  11. ball — a great time
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. prune — to trim
  15. last — final
  16. craft — boats
  17. rock — a stone
  18. rock — music
  19. capital — a city
  20. club — a group
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — of water
  24. ball — a dance

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