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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: firm · plane · key · ground · last · prune · cap · stand

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. key — the most important part
  3. firm — steady
  4. cap — a hat
  5. firm — a company
  6. key — in music
  7. plane — a tool
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. last — to go on
  10. key — for a lock
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. last — finally
  13. cap — a lid
  14. firm — decided
  15. prune — to trim
  16. stand — to bear
  17. prune — to trim
  18. ground — a position
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. ground — the earth
  22. cap — of ice
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. ground — crushed

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