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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. ground — crushed
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. snap — to click
  10. ground — a position
  11. last — final
  12. chair — a leader
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. prune — to trim
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. pitch — completely
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. ground — the earth
  19. last — finally
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. wake — a trail

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