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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. march — the month
  4. last — to go on
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. lean — to bend
  8. season — in sport
  9. march — the month
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wind — moving air
  13. season — of the year
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. lean — thin
  18. wind — moving air
  19. march — music
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. kick — in football
  23. last — finally
  24. kick — a thrill

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