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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. hand — help
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. can — to be able to
  5. lean — thin
  6. last — to go on
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. can — a tin
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. hand — in cards
  13. last — finally
  14. file — a tool
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. file — a document
  17. lean — to bend
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. file — a line of people
  21. can — a tin
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. mouse — for a computer

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