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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — finally
  3. kid — child
  4. cell — in biology
  5. mate — a friend
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. bat — the animal
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. mate — a partner
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — to trim
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bass — the fish
  17. kid — to tease
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cell — a phone
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. last — final
  22. bass — low music
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. mate — to breed

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