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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 116 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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. present — there
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wind — moving air
  8. ground — a position
  9. key — for a lock
  10. key — the most important part
  11. last — to go on
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — crushed
  16. present — the time now
  17. present — a gift
  18. last — finally
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. key — in music

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