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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — finally
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. cold — not warm
  6. club — for dancing
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. club — for golf
  10. saw — the tool
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. club — a group
  13. saw — the tool
  14. last — to go on
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. vault — a safe
  17. cold — an illness
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. rest — a break
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. chest — of your body

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