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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. last — finally
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. wake — a trail
  5. last — to go on
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. pop — soda
  11. pop — music
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. tube — a container
  14. prune — to trim
  15. tube — the underground
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. mine — for digging
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. chest — a box
  20. saw — the tool
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. last — final
  24. saw — the tool

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