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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. rest — what's left
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. prune — to trim
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. sharp — clever
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. bulb — for light
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bulb — for light
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — finally
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. rest — a break
  24. rest — what's left

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