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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. last — final
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. firm — a company
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. firm — steady
  7. row — to paddle
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. shower — to wash
  10. last — finally
  11. firm — decided
  12. last — to go on
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — a break
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. pass — a permit
  19. cell — a phone
  20. row — a line
  21. rest — what's left
  22. shower — rain
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — in biology

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