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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. prune — to trim
  3. fall — to drop
  4. track — a path
  5. fall — the season
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. prune — to trim
  9. last — finally
  10. capital — a city
  11. fall — to drop
  12. track — to keep track
  13. firm — a company
  14. track — a song
  15. sharp — clever
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — money
  18. last — to go on
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. wake — a trail
  21. firm — steady
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. last — final
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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