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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. wind — moving air
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — a line
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. last — finally
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. bound — obliged
  11. row — to paddle
  12. last — final
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. bound — tied together
  16. charge — in control
  17. bound — certain
  18. wind — moving air
  19. prune — to trim
  20. track — a path
  21. charge — a price
  22. charge — electricity
  23. track — a song
  24. track — to keep track

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