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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. sharp — clever
  3. prune — to trim
  4. squash — to crush
  5. track — to keep track
  6. net — in sport
  7. club — for dancing
  8. pound — a weight
  9. club — for golf
  10. last — to go on
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. prune — to trim
  15. club — a group
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. last — finally
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. track — a path
  20. net — after costs
  21. net — for catching
  22. squash — the sport
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. track — a song

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