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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. last — final
  5. wake — a trail
  6. tube — the underground
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — farmland
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. pass — a permit
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. tube — a container
  18. bass — low music
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. prune — to trim
  21. last — finally
  22. field — for sport
  23. bass — the fish
  24. last — to go on

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