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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 120 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — to go on
  3. sharp — clever
  4. band — a music group
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. last — finally
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. plane — a tool
  10. club — a group
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. pitch — completely
  13. club — for golf
  14. prune — to trim
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. march — the month
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. band — a ring
  19. march — music
  20. march — the month
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. club — for dancing
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. plane — an aircraft

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