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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. shower — rain
  3. last — final
  4. root — of a word
  5. prune — to trim
  6. last — to go on
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bound — tied together
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. squash — to crush
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. bound — obliged
  15. squash — the sport
  16. bound — certain
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. pitch — completely
  20. mate — a friend
  21. root — of a plant
  22. mate — a partner
  23. root — the cause
  24. mate — to breed

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