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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 116 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. prune — to trim
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rock — a stone
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. pound — a weight
  12. bass — the fish
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. rock — music
  17. last — to go on
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bass — low music
  22. last — final
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — in an idiom

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