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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 116 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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. swing — to play on
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — finally
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. rest — what's left
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. rest — a break
  10. cell — a phone
  11. prune — to trim
  12. cell — in biology
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. swing — music
  15. pass — a permit
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. wound — an injury
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. pound — a weight
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. last — final
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. swing — in golf
  24. wound — an injury

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