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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. hand — in cards
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — final
  9. ground — crushed
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. march — music
  12. ground — a position
  13. cell — in biology
  14. hand — help
  15. ground — the earth
  16. cell — a phone
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. cell — in a prison

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