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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. key — for a lock
  3. shower — to wash
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. last — finally
  10. fine — high quality
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pass — a permit
  15. season — of the year
  16. key — the most important part
  17. fine — all right
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. shower — rain
  20. last — to go on
  21. season — in sport
  22. key — in music
  23. snap — to click
  24. pass — to spend time

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