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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bass — low music
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. squash — to crush
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. stock — goods
  11. stock — shares
  12. bass — the fish
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. squash — the sport
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — finally
  22. mark — a trace
  23. mark — a grade
  24. nail — for a hammer

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