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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. prune — to trim
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. wound — an injury
  5. toast — bread
  6. court — of law
  7. court — of a king
  8. last — final
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. sharp — clever
  11. last — to go on
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. prune — to trim
  15. court — for sport
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. wound — an injury
  19. snap — to click
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. last — finally
  24. stand — to bear

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