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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: foot · rush · row · prune · chip · roll · last · chest

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. foot — a measure
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. prune — to trim
  7. chip — for betting
  8. roll — a list
  9. rush — hurry
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. chest — of your body
  12. roll — a cake
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. row — to paddle
  15. chest — a box
  16. prune — to trim
  17. row — a line
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. chest — of your body
  20. last — final
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. chip — to eat
  23. last — finally
  24. last — to go on

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