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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. last — to go on
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. squash — to crush
  7. mate — a friend
  8. squash — the sport
  9. mate — to breed
  10. kid — child
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. wound — an injury
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. last — final
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. last — finally
  18. wound — an injury
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. kid — to tease
  21. mate — a partner
  22. prune — to trim
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. pass — a permit

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