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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. pound — a weight
  3. face — to point toward
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. spring — a coil
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. prune — to trim
  10. face — to confront
  11. prune — to trim
  12. spring — the season
  13. face — part of the head
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. spring — of water
  17. perch — the fish
  18. ball — a dance
  19. ball — a great time
  20. last — finally
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. last — to go on
  24. perch — for a bird

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