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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. rest — what's left
  4. ground — the earth
  5. ground — a position
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. pound — a weight
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. last — to go on
  10. chest — of your body
  11. rest — what's left
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. rash — hasty
  14. ground — crushed
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rash — a series
  19. last — finally
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. rest — a break

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