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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. prune — to trim
  3. fine — high quality
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. fine — all right
  6. prune — to trim
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — a city
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. last — finally
  11. drill — army training
  12. last — to go on
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. drill — a practice
  15. clip — a video
  16. capital — money
  17. clip — for paper
  18. spell — magic
  19. spell — a short time
  20. drill — the tool
  21. clip — to cut
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. spell — letters
  24. last — final

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