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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. fine — all right
  3. net — in sport
  4. toast — bread
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. content — the amount
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. prune — to trim
  10. net — for catching
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. last — finally
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — an injury
  16. fine — high quality
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. content — happy
  21. net — after costs
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. last — to go on
  24. last — final

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