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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. firm — decided
  4. bank — for money
  5. last — final
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. last — to go on
  8. row — a line
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. firm — a company
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bank — of a river
  14. date — the fruit
  15. bank — for money
  16. firm — steady
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bat — the animal
  20. row — to paddle
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. wake — a trail

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