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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. roll — a list
  3. roll — a cake
  4. cell — a phone
  5. last — final
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. root — the cause
  10. spring — of water
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. spring — a coil
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. board — a committee
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. last — finally
  20. root — of a word
  21. root — of a plant
  22. spring — the season
  23. cell — in biology
  24. board — to get on

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