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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: craft · squash · prune · rule · wind · bat · last · pop

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. squash — to crush
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. pop — soda
  5. wind — moving air
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. squash — the sport
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bat — the animal
  14. craft — boats
  15. last — to go on
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rule — a law
  18. pop — to visit
  19. last — final
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. craft — a skill
  23. rule — government
  24. last — finally

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