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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. club — for dancing
  3. race — the arms race
  4. last — finally
  5. pit — in a race
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. prune — to trim
  8. last — final
  9. prune — to trim
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. hand — in cards
  14. ball — a dance
  15. hand — help
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. club — for golf
  19. club — a group
  20. race — a contest
  21. pit — a hole
  22. last — to go on
  23. race — humankind
  24. ball — a round shape

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