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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. pit — a hole
  8. last — finally
  9. rash — a series
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. prune — to trim
  12. clip — a video
  13. ground — the earth
  14. pit — in a race
  15. clip — for paper
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. clip — to cut
  18. rush — hurry
  19. last — final
  20. ground — a position
  21. rash — hasty
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. prune — to trim
  24. ground — crushed

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