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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 · pop · mark · deal · wave · prune · kick · fall

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. fall — to drop
  3. last — to go on
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. prune — to trim
  6. last — finally
  7. pop — to visit
  8. mark — a trace
  9. mark — a grade
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. kick — in football
  12. prune — to trim
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. pop — soda
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. fall — to drop
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. pop — music
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. fall — the season
  23. deal — to handle
  24. deal — a big deal

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