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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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. squash — the vegetable
  4. file — a line of people
  5. pop — music
  6. squash — the sport
  7. squash — to crush
  8. net — after costs
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. net — for catching
  11. last — finally
  12. fork — in a road
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. pop — to visit
  18. pop — soda
  19. file — a tool
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. last — final
  22. net — in sport
  23. foot — a measure
  24. file — a document

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