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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. chest — of your body
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — wild animals
  6. hand — help
  7. rest — what's left
  8. game — a match
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. rest — what's left
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. last — final
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. last — finally
  16. rest — a break
  17. chest — of your body
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. chest — a box
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. rush — hurry
  23. hand — in cards
  24. lie — to recline

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