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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. bulb — for light
  3. mark — a trace
  4. scale — in music
  5. saw — the tool
  6. track — to keep track
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. track — a path
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. file — a tool
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. mark — a grade
  14. last — final
  15. scale — size or range
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. track — a song
  18. saw — the tool
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. bulb — for light
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a document
  24. last — finally

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