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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. tear — from crying
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. bass — the fish
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. last — to go on
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. date — the fruit
  12. last — finally
  13. last — final
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. tear — to rip
  19. game — wild animals
  20. bass — low music
  21. game — a match
  22. tear — from crying
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — a monarch

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