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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. last — finally
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. rest — a break
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. rest — what's left
  9. pass — a permit
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — for digging
  13. last — final
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. last — to go on

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