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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 116 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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. last — to go on
  3. mate — a partner
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. row — a line
  6. fall — the season
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — to drop
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. last — final
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. mate — to breed
  13. row — to paddle
  14. last — finally
  15. sharp — clever
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. spell — a short time
  18. mate — a friend
  19. pitch — completely
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. spell — letters
  24. spell — magic

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