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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: prune · wake · pitcher · plane · court · last · staff · firm

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  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. last — final
  2. last — to go on
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. firm — decided
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. court — of a king
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. prune — to trim
  13. firm — steady
  14. firm — a company
  15. court — for sport
  16. staff — a stick
  17. plane — a tool
  18. court — of law
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. staff — employees
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. staff — employees
  23. plane — in geometry
  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