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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. root — the cause
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — for digging
  6. last — final
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. scale — in music
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. tube — a container
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. tube — the underground
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. scale — size or range
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. root — of a word
  20. root — of a plant
  21. last — finally
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. cold — an illness
  24. wake — a trail

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