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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. last — final
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. band — a music group
  7. race — a contest
  8. rest — what's left
  9. last — to go on
  10. kick — in football
  11. wound — an injury
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. race — the arms race
  17. rest — what's left
  18. race — humankind
  19. band — a ring
  20. last — finally
  21. perch — the fish
  22. rest — a break
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. wound — an injury

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