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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. wound — an injury
  4. squash — to crush
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wound — an injury
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. last — finally
  10. key — in music
  11. march — the month
  12. squash — the sport
  13. key — for a lock
  14. march — music
  15. last — final
  16. key — the most important part
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. march — the month

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