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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. court — for sport
  4. last — finally
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. last — final
  7. last — to go on
  8. chest — of your body
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. march — the month
  11. ground — the earth
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. march — music
  14. court — of a king
  15. chest — a box
  16. prune — to trim
  17. ground — crushed
  18. march — the month
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. court — of law
  21. rule — government
  22. rule — a law
  23. ground — a position
  24. chest — of your body

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