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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bore — to drill
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. prune — to trim
  8. pitch — completely
  9. wind — moving air
  10. vault — a safe
  11. last — finally
  12. pass — a permit
  13. last — to go on
  14. root — of a plant
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. root — of a word
  18. root — the cause
  19. bore — to tire
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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