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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. spell — letters
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. chip — for betting
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. spell — magic
  10. last — final
  11. track — a song
  12. degree — temperature
  13. chip — to eat
  14. degree — from a university
  15. hand — in cards
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. last — to go on
  18. spell — a short time
  19. track — a path
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. degree — an amount
  22. track — to keep track
  23. hand — help
  24. vault — a safe

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