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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. spell — magic
  3. last — to go on
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. chest — of your body
  6. squash — the sport
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. chest — of your body
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. pass — a permit
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. wound — an injury
  13. last — final
  14. deal — to handle
  15. stock — goods
  16. squash — to crush
  17. spell — letters
  18. chest — a box
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. wound — an injury
  21. stock — shares
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. spell — a short time
  24. pass — to spend time

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