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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. prune — to trim
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — wild animals
  5. last — finally
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. game — a match
  9. spell — letters
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. last — final
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. spell — a short time
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — a division
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. spell — magic
  22. wake — a trail
  23. last — to go on
  24. prune — to trim

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