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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — finally
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. roll — a list
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. shower — rain
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. lie — to recline
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. roll — a cake
  16. craft — boats
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. pass — a permit
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. craft — a skill
  21. shower — to wash
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. last — to go on
  24. cold — not warm

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