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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. prune — to trim
  3. march — music
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. last — to go on
  7. object — an aim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. chip — to eat
  10. snap — to click
  11. march — the month
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. object — a thing
  14. pound — a weight
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. prune — to trim
  17. last — finally
  18. wake — a trail
  19. last — final
  20. object — to protest
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. chip — for betting
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. march — the month

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