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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 120 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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. last — final
  7. last — finally
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. stock — shares
  11. mine — for digging
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. wound — an injury
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. stock — goods
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. wound — an injury
  23. deal — to handle
  24. plane — a tool

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