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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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. dip — to dunk
  4. last — finally
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. net — for catching
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. net — after costs
  10. cell — in biology
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. dip — to sink
  13. net — in sport
  14. wake — a trail
  15. cell — a phone
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. hide — animal skin

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