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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — to go on
  3. wound — an injury
  4. rush — hurry
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. shower — rain
  7. track — a song
  8. vault — a safe
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. club — for dancing
  12. wound — an injury
  13. shower — to wash
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. track — a path
  16. track — to keep track
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. last — final
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. club — a group
  22. club — for golf
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. patient — a sick person

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