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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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. rock — music
  4. field — a subject
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. game — a match
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. rock — a stone
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. last — final
  11. bass — the fish
  12. field — farmland
  13. prune — to trim
  14. field — for sport
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. last — finally
  17. pound — a weight
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. rule — a law
  22. bass — low music
  23. game — wild animals
  24. rule — government

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