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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. lean — thin
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. root — of a plant
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. wound — an injury
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of law
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wound — an injury
  16. root — the cause
  17. court — of a king
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. lean — to bend
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. last — final
  23. last — to go on
  24. root — of a word

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