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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 116 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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. track — a path
  3. cell — a phone
  4. drill — the tool
  5. cell — in biology
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. board — to get on
  8. last — to go on
  9. drill — army training
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. last — final
  12. track — to keep track
  13. pitch — completely
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. drill — a practice
  21. board — a committee
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. track — a song

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