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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 124 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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. rush — hurry
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bat — the animal
  5. rash — hasty
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. rash — a series
  8. last — finally
  9. scale — in music
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. scale — size or range
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. date — the fruit
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. last — to go on
  23. prune — to trim
  24. last — final

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