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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. sharp — clever
  3. staff — employees
  4. net — in sport
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. bound — obliged
  7. last — final
  8. rush — hurry
  9. net — for catching
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — a stick
  12. pop — soda
  13. net — after costs
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. pop — music
  16. cell — in biology
  17. pop — to visit
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. cell — a phone
  20. bound — certain
  21. last — finally
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. bound — tied together
  24. sharp — exactly

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