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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. prune — to trim
  3. key — in music
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. key — for a lock
  6. craft — boats
  7. last — to go on
  8. prune — to trim
  9. key — the most important part
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. last — finally
  15. craft — a skill
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. snap — to click
  24. bat — the animal

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