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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 120 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. saw — the tool
  3. band — a ring
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. saw — the tool
  9. spell — magic
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. last — final
  12. last — finally
  13. rash — hasty
  14. band — a music group
  15. spell — a short time
  16. drill — army training
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rash — a series
  20. deal — to handle
  21. spell — letters
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — a practice

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