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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. last — finally
  3. last — to go on
  4. swing — to play on
  5. face — to point toward
  6. face — to confront
  7. last — final
  8. rock — a stone
  9. prune — to trim
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. rock — music
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. chair — a leader
  16. shower — rain
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. swing — in golf
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. face — part of the head
  23. swing — music
  24. shower — to wash

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