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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. ground — crushed
  6. last — finally
  7. prune — to trim
  8. degree — from a university
  9. deal — to handle
  10. craft — boats
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. degree — an amount
  15. ground — a position
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. last — to go on
  19. cell — a phone
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. degree — temperature
  22. craft — a skill
  23. prune — to trim
  24. ground — the earth

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