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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. file — a line of people
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. file — a tool
  7. field — farmland
  8. content — the amount
  9. field — for sport
  10. last — finally
  11. file — a document
  12. mine — for digging
  13. prune — to trim
  14. field — a subject
  15. last — to go on
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. rest — a break
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. rest — what's left
  20. content — happy
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. last — final
  23. rest — what's left
  24. mine — belonging to me

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