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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. band — a music group
  4. march — music
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. cold — not warm
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bulb — for light
  10. band — a ring
  11. march — the month
  12. saw — the tool
  13. staff — employees
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. last — final
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. staff — employees
  19. cold — an illness
  20. last — finally
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bulb — for light
  23. march — the month
  24. staff — a stick

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