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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. prune — to trim
  3. can — to be able to
  4. can — a tin
  5. last — to go on
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. scale — size or range
  10. last — finally
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. scale — in music
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. wake — a trail
  15. can — a tin
  16. prune — to trim
  17. cold — an illness
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. last — final
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. mark — a grade

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