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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. prune — to trim
  3. race — the arms race
  4. last — finally
  5. pop — music
  6. rule — government
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. race — humankind
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. last — final
  11. pop — to visit
  12. vault — a safe
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. rule — a law
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. last — to go on
  18. race — a contest
  19. track — to keep track
  20. track — a song
  21. prune — to trim
  22. pop — soda
  23. sharp — clever
  24. rule — to rule out

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