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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. pit — a hole
  3. race — the arms race
  4. spell — letters
  5. last — final
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. last — finally
  8. spell — a short time
  9. prune — to trim
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. branch — a division
  13. pit — in a race
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. race — humankind
  16. ground — crushed
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. race — a contest
  20. ground — a position
  21. spell — magic
  22. ground — the earth
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. branch — of a tree

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