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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. lean — to bend
  3. last — to go on
  4. tear — from crying
  5. game — a match
  6. game — wild animals
  7. tube — the underground
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. tear — to rip
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. tear — from crying
  18. date — the fruit
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. last — final
  21. lean — thin
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. tube — a container
  24. racket — for tennis

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