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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. swing — music
  8. stock — shares
  9. ground — the earth
  10. rock — music
  11. cell — a phone
  12. swing — to play on
  13. ground — a position
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. cell — in biology
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. stock — goods
  19. ground — crushed
  20. swing — in golf
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. last — to go on
  23. rock — a stone
  24. last — finally

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