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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. mine — for digging
  4. drill — army training
  5. swing — to play on
  6. swing — music
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. drill — a practice
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. ball — a great time
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. swing — in golf
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. last — to go on
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. last — final
  23. ball — a dance
  24. drill — the tool

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