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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  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. kick — with a leg
  3. drill — the tool
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. drill — a practice
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. mine — for digging
  10. foot — a measure
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. cap — of ice
  13. last — to go on
  14. stand — to bear
  15. cap — a lid
  16. spell — magic
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. drill — army training
  19. spell — letters
  20. cap — a hat
  21. kick — in football
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. spell — a short time
  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