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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. last — finally
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. rock — a stone
  6. last — to go on
  7. rock — music
  8. tube — the underground
  9. lie — to recline
  10. mark — a grade
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. prune — to trim
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. scale — size or range
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. scale — in music
  20. prune — to trim
  21. last — final
  22. tube — a container
  23. mark — a trace
  24. wake — a trail

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