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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. lean — thin
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. row — to paddle
  6. drill — army training
  7. last — finally
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. kick — in football
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. plane — a tool
  13. lean — to bend
  14. drill — the tool
  15. date — the fruit
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. drill — a practice
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. last — to go on
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. row — a line
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. row — a quarrel

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