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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. rest — what's left
  3. season — of the year
  4. club — for dancing
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. club — for golf
  7. season — in sport
  8. cold — an illness
  9. club — a group
  10. ground — crushed
  11. ground — a position
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. rest — what's left
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. cold — not warm
  16. vault — a safe
  17. last — final
  18. rest — a break
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. ground — the earth
  24. last — to go on

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