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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. current — happening now
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. prune — to trim
  6. last — final
  7. drill — army training
  8. current — electric
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. net — in sport
  12. mark — a grade
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. net — for catching
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. mark — a trace
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. current — of water
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. last — finally
  21. prune — to trim
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — the tool
  24. net — after costs

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