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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. chair — a leader
  3. last — to go on
  4. current — of water
  5. field — a subject
  6. prune — to trim
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. cue — a hint
  10. field — farmland
  11. last — finally
  12. prune — to trim
  13. cue — for pool
  14. field — for sport
  15. game — a match
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. last — final
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. current — electric
  20. cue — a signal
  21. current — happening now
  22. game — wild animals
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. game — a kind of play

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