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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bound — certain
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — in sport
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. prune — to trim
  9. key — in music
  10. prune — to trim
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. net — after costs
  13. last — final
  14. key — for a lock
  15. bound — tied together
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. last — to go on
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. squash — to crush
  20. key — the most important part
  21. cold — not warm
  22. squash — the sport
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. bound — obliged

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