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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 116 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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. prune — to trim
  4. band — a ring
  5. firm — steady
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. hand — in cards
  9. last — final
  10. race — the arms race
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. race — a contest
  14. pass — a permit
  15. last — finally
  16. race — humankind
  17. firm — a company
  18. last — to go on
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. prune — to trim
  22. band — a music group
  23. hand — help
  24. firm — decided

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