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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. last — final
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bass — the fish
  5. mark — a grade
  6. fall — to drop
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. ball — a great time
  10. content — the amount
  11. prune — to trim
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. content — happy
  15. bass — low music
  16. ball — a dance
  17. mark — a trace
  18. last — finally
  19. fall — to drop
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. stem — to come from
  23. fall — the season
  24. last — to go on

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