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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 116 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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  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. prune — to trim
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. last — finally
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — wild animals
  6. last — final
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. capital — a city
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. press — newspapers
  11. press — a publisher
  12. capital — money
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. last — to go on
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. press — to push
  17. squash — to crush
  18. squash — the sport
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. game — a match
  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