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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. last — finally
  3. sharp — clever
  4. last — final
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. mate — to breed
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mate — a friend
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. lean — thin
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. row — to paddle
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — to trim
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. last — to go on
  20. lean — to bend
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. row — a line
  24. prune — the fruit

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