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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. saw — the tool
  4. last — final
  5. charge — a price
  6. track — a path
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. track — to keep track
  11. last — finally
  12. saw — the tool
  13. kid — child
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. track — a song
  16. rest — what's left
  17. charge — in control
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. rest — what's left
  20. charge — electricity
  21. prune — to trim
  22. kid — to tease
  23. prune — to trim
  24. rest — a break

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