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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. key — the most important part
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. spring — a coil
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. spell — magic
  8. cold — an illness
  9. last — finally
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — a short time
  14. saw — the tool
  15. key — in music
  16. last — final
  17. saw — the tool
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — of water
  20. key — for a lock
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. dip — to sink
  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