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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — final
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. rock — a stone
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. spring — of water
  7. march — the month
  8. spring — the season
  9. march — music
  10. saw — the tool
  11. spring — a coil
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. last — to go on
  14. fork — in a road
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — the earth
  18. march — the month
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. ground — crushed
  21. rock — music
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. saw — the tool
  24. pitcher — a jug

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