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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. last — finally
  3. fine — high quality
  4. wake — a trail
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. key — the most important part
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. row — to paddle
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. rock — a stone
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. last — to go on
  17. row — a line
  18. key — for a lock
  19. key — in music
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. fine — all right
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. last — final
  24. row — a quarrel

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