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

Word bank: last · row · foot · prune · land · date · wind · temple

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. last — final
  4. date — the fruit
  5. last — to go on
  6. land — to come down
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. land — ground
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. wind — moving air
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. row — to paddle
  13. last — finally
  14. land — a country
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. wind — moving air
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. prune — to trim
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. foot — a measure
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. prune — to trim

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