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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  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. cue — a hint
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. can — a tin
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. can — to be able to
  8. last — to go on
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. content — happy
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. wake — a trail
  15. can — a tin
  16. content — the amount
  17. cue — for pool
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. cue — a signal
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. fork — in a road
  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