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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. chest — of your body
  3. race — a contest
  4. race — humankind
  5. last — finally
  6. last — to go on
  7. face — to confront
  8. date — the fruit
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. face — to point toward
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. prune — to trim
  15. chest — a box
  16. face — part of the head
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. race — the arms race
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. last — final
  22. cell — a phone
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. chest — of your body

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