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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. last — finally
  3. firm — steady
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. kick — in football
  6. cell — a phone
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. club — a group
  10. shower — to wash
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. shower — rain
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. firm — a company
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. last — to go on
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. last — final
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. club — for golf
  22. cell — in biology
  23. firm — decided
  24. leaves — to go away

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