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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 120 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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. last — finally
  3. last — to go on
  4. rest — what's left
  5. pop — to visit
  6. staff — employees
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. firm — steady
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. pop — music
  12. pop — soda
  13. prune — to trim
  14. last — final
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. staff — a stick
  17. firm — a company
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. cold — an illness
  21. firm — decided
  22. rest — what's left
  23. staff — employees
  24. rest — a break

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