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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. swing — to play on
  3. last — to go on
  4. prune — to trim
  5. rest — what's left
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. last — final
  9. content — happy
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. prune — to trim
  14. content — the amount
  15. swing — in golf
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. dip — to sink
  18. rest — a break
  19. shower — rain
  20. swing — music
  21. bass — low music
  22. last — finally
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. bass — the fish

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