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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 · face · fine · court · calf · prune · ground · staff

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. last — final
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. staff — a stick
  7. ground — crushed
  8. prune — to trim
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. face — to confront
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. ground — a position
  13. face — to point toward
  14. face — part of the head
  15. fine — high quality
  16. last — finally
  17. ground — the earth
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. fine — all right
  20. last — to go on
  21. court — for sport
  22. court — of law
  23. court — of a king
  24. staff — employees

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