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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 120 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — wild animals
  4. last — finally
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — for digging
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. spell — magic
  11. lie — to recline
  12. spell — letters
  13. game — a match
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. spell — a short time
  19. last — to go on
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. pass — a permit

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