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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. last — final
  3. last — to go on
  4. fine — all right
  5. scale — size or range
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rock — music
  9. fine — high quality
  10. rock — a stone
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. pop — soda
  14. rest — what's left
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. pop — music
  19. scale — in music
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a match
  22. rest — a break
  23. pop — to visit
  24. last — finally

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