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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — final
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. spring — the season
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. rule — a law
  8. spring — a coil
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cue — a signal
  11. cue — a hint
  12. cue — for pool
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. last — finally
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. degree — an amount
  17. spring — of water
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. degree — from a university
  20. degree — temperature
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. rule — government
  23. prune — to trim
  24. calf — of the leg

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