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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · prune · racket · ground · pass · rush · band · last

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. pass — a permit
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. ground — the earth
  5. chest — of your body
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. chest — a box
  8. prune — to trim
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. prune — to trim
  11. chest — of your body
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. band — a music group
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. last — to go on
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. ground — a position
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. last — finally
  20. last — final
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a ring
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. rush — hurry

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