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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. firm — steady
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. root — the cause
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — to trim
  9. last — finally
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. root — of a word
  12. firm — a company
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a document
  17. firm — decided
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. root — of a plant
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. file — a line of people
  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