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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. ground — a position
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. press — a publisher
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. pop — to visit
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. last — to go on
  10. ground — the earth
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. pound — a weight
  13. ground — crushed
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. prune — to trim
  16. pop — music
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. press — to push
  19. prune — to trim
  20. chair — a leader
  21. press — newspapers
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. last — final
  24. pop — soda

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