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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. firm — steady
  3. charge — a price
  4. firm — decided
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — the animal
  7. vault — a safe
  8. charge — electricity
  9. rash — hasty
  10. firm — a company
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. last — to go on
  13. rash — a series
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — what's left
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. swing — to play on
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. charge — in control
  21. swing — music
  22. rest — a break
  23. last — finally
  24. swing — in golf

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