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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. bass — the fish
  3. prune — to trim
  4. scale — size or range
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. fork — in a road
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — for digging
  10. stock — shares
  11. last — final
  12. shower — rain
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. bass — low music
  17. stock — goods
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. shower — to wash
  20. scale — in music
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. last — finally
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. prune — to trim

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