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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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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. last — final
  3. band — a ring
  4. roll — a cake
  5. last — finally
  6. band — a music group
  7. last — to go on
  8. roll — a list
  9. object — to protest
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. hand — in cards
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. hand — help
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. object — a thing
  18. object — an aim

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