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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. spring — a coil
  3. sharp — clever
  4. spring — the season
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. rock — music
  9. last — finally
  10. rock — a stone
  11. cold — an illness
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. fine — all right
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. spring — of water
  17. cold — not warm
  18. fine — high quality
  19. last — final
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. pass — a permit
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. mouse — the animal

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