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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. club — for dancing
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. mine — for digging
  5. last — to go on
  6. chest — of your body
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. last — finally
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. club — for golf
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. club — a group
  18. firm — decided
  19. chest — a box
  20. chest — of your body
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. firm — steady
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. firm — a company

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