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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 120 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  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. last — finally
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. ground — crushed
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. bound — obliged
  6. ground — a position
  7. spell — a short time
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. spell — letters
  12. bat — the animal
  13. key — the most important part
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bound — certain
  16. key — in music
  17. key — for a lock
  18. last — to go on
  19. ground — the earth
  20. bulb — for light
  21. last — final
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bulb — for light
  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