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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. rash — a series
  4. last — final
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. band — a ring
  12. band — a music group
  13. mine — for digging
  14. key — the most important part
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. prune — to trim
  17. key — for a lock
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. key — in music
  20. prune — to trim
  21. rash — hasty
  22. last — finally
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. last — to go on

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