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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. bat — the animal
  7. land — ground
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. land — a country
  10. pass — a permit
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. snap — to click
  14. lean — thin
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. last — finally
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. land — to come down
  22. lean — to bend
  23. last — to go on
  24. bat — for baseball

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