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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. last — final
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. last — to go on
  5. cap — a hat
  6. last — finally
  7. cue — for pool
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. cue — a hint
  13. cue — a signal
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. wake — a trail
  16. bat — the animal
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. cap — of ice
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. cabinet — ministers

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