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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. tear — from crying
  3. land — a country
  4. firm — decided
  5. pop — to visit
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. mate — a partner
  8. land — to come down
  9. pop — music
  10. land — ground
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. saw — the tool
  14. firm — steady
  15. last — final
  16. pop — soda
  17. last — to go on
  18. mate — to breed
  19. saw — the tool
  20. mate — a friend
  21. tear — to rip
  22. tear — from crying
  23. firm — a company
  24. last — finally

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