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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: mark · leaves · last · land · ground · content · prune · row

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. mark — a grade
  3. mark — a trace
  4. land — a country
  5. last — to go on
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. ground — crushed
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. prune — to trim
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. prune — to trim
  14. ground — a position
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. land — ground
  17. row — to paddle
  18. land — to come down
  19. content — happy
  20. last — finally
  21. ground — the earth
  22. row — a line
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. last — final

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