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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pop — to visit
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. rest — what's left
  6. club — for dancing
  7. last — to go on
  8. club — a group
  9. track — a path
  10. pop — music
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cap — a hat
  13. track — a song
  14. pop — soda
  15. craft — boats
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. rest — a break
  18. rest — what's left
  19. track — to keep track
  20. craft — a skill
  21. club — for golf
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cap — of ice
  24. last — finally

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