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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. prune — to trim
  3. club — a group
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — final
  6. rock — a stone
  7. net — for catching
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cue — for pool
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. club — for dancing
  14. net — after costs
  15. rock — music
  16. net — in sport
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. prune — to trim
  19. cue — a signal
  20. cold — not warm
  21. club — for golf
  22. cue — a hint
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. last — finally

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