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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. lie — to recline
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. net — after costs
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. last — finally
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — final
  16. march — the month
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. pitch — completely
  19. net — in sport
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. march — music
  22. net — for catching
  23. march — the month
  24. leaves — of a tree

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