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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. mark — a trace
  4. key — for a lock
  5. file — a line of people
  6. lean — to bend
  7. last — to go on
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. last — finally
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. file — a tool
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. saw — the tool
  15. file — a document
  16. saw — the tool
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. mark — a grade
  20. lean — thin
  21. content — happy
  22. content — the amount
  23. key — the most important part
  24. key — in music

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