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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. tear — from crying
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. last — finally
  6. prune — to trim
  7. last — to go on
  8. tear — to rip
  9. drill — army training
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. present — a gift
  12. deal — to handle
  13. prune — to trim
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — a practice
  17. tear — from crying
  18. present — the time now
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. present — there
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. last — final
  23. board — a committee
  24. board — to get on

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