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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. foot — a measure
  3. last — to go on
  4. spell — magic
  5. rest — what's left
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. wound — an injury
  8. rest — what's left
  9. content — happy
  10. press — to push
  11. spell — letters
  12. press — newspapers
  13. content — the amount
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. wound — an injury
  16. last — finally
  17. staff — a stick
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. staff — employees
  20. spell — a short time
  21. rest — a break
  22. press — a publisher
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. staff — employees

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