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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 120 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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. fall — to drop
  3. last — finally
  4. bore — to tire
  5. swing — in golf
  6. last — final
  7. season — in sport
  8. swing — music
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bore — to drill
  12. staff — employees
  13. track — a path
  14. staff — employees
  15. track — a song
  16. swing — to play on
  17. track — to keep track
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. staff — a stick
  21. fall — the season
  22. fall — to drop
  23. season — of the year
  24. season — to add flavour

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