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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. pop — music
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pop — soda
  6. bound — tied together
  7. key — the most important part
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. pop — to visit
  11. last — finally
  12. last — to go on
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. bound — certain
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. key — in music
  19. last — final
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. bound — obliged
  22. key — for a lock
  23. fork — in a road
  24. date — the fruit

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