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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — finally
  3. rush — hurry
  4. hand — in cards
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. mate — a partner
  8. bound — certain
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. mark — a grade
  11. drill — a practice
  12. drill — army training
  13. last — to go on
  14. mate — to breed
  15. drill — the tool
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — a tin
  18. can — to be able to
  19. bound — obliged
  20. bound — tied together
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. mark — a trace
  23. mate — a friend
  24. hand — help

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