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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. content — the amount
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. last — finally
  7. wound — an injury
  8. roll — a cake
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. wound — an injury
  13. roll — a list
  14. last — final
  15. pound — a weight
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. content — happy
  21. pass — a permit
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. temple — side of the head

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