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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. last — final
  5. rest — a break
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. fine — all right
  8. date — the fruit
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — what's left
  15. last — to go on
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. fine — high quality
  18. jam — a tight spot

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