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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. prune — to trim
  3. last — final
  4. last — finally
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. plane — a tool
  9. ball — a great time
  10. last — to go on
  11. drill — the tool
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. spring — a coil
  15. ball — a dance
  16. sharp — clever
  17. drill — a practice
  18. spring — the season
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. drill — army training
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. spring — of water

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