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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 120 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: file · game · last · prune · ground · arm · lash · pass

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. ground — the earth
  3. last — finally
  4. ground — crushed
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. pass — a permit
  8. game — wild animals
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. prune — to trim
  11. last — to go on
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. file — a document
  18. game — a match
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. file — a tool
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. ground — a position
  24. file — a line of people

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