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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: rest · bark · fan · jam · prune · last · fine · pitcher

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. bark — to shout
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. last — finally
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. fine — high quality
  10. prune — to trim
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — what's left
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. last — to go on
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fine — all right
  24. rest — a break

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