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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. present — there
  3. last — final
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. present — a gift
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. last — to go on
  10. club — for dancing
  11. club — a group
  12. prune — to trim
  13. club — for golf
  14. band — a ring
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. last — finally
  17. firm — steady
  18. present — the time now
  19. shower — rain
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. firm — a company
  22. firm — decided
  23. shower — to wash
  24. band — a music group

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