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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. staff — a stick
  3. last — to go on
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. snap — to click
  6. pit — in a race
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — the fish
  12. staff — employees
  13. band — a music group
  14. pit — a hole
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. last — finally
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — the tool
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. last — final
  23. band — a ring
  24. staff — employees

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