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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. track — a path
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. track — to keep track
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. last — final
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. chair — a leader
  10. track — a song
  11. race — humankind
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. bat — the animal
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. roll — a list
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. last — to go on
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — the arms race
  23. pass — a permit
  24. roll — a cake

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