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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. prune — to trim
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. net — in sport
  8. rush — hurry
  9. net — for catching
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. last — finally
  13. wake — a trail
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. last — final
  17. vault — a safe
  18. net — after costs
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. date — the fruit
  21. root — the cause
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. root — of a plant
  24. root — of a word

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