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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. pop — soda
  3. land — a country
  4. last — final
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. land — to come down
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. fall — to drop
  10. last — to go on
  11. present — a gift
  12. tube — a container
  13. land — ground
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. prune — to trim
  16. pop — to visit
  17. present — there
  18. chair — a leader
  19. present — the time now
  20. fall — the season
  21. pop — music
  22. tube — the underground
  23. fall — to drop
  24. prune — to trim

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