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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. mine — for digging
  5. chest — of your body
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. ball — a dance
  8. last — final
  9. scale — size or range
  10. last — finally
  11. last — to go on
  12. rest — a break
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. chest — a box
  15. ball — a great time
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. squash — the sport
  19. scale — in music
  20. squash — to crush
  21. chest — of your body
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. rest — what's left

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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