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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — finally
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. last — final
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. deal — to handle
  15. fine — high quality
  16. rash — hasty
  17. date — the fruit
  18. fine — all right
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. hand — help
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. rash — a series
  24. kick — in football

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