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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — to go on
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. stand — to bear
  5. file — a document
  6. fall — the season
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. sharp — clever
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. bat — the animal
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. last — finally
  15. root — of a word
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. file — a line of people
  18. root — of a plant
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. lie — to recline
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — to drop
  23. root — the cause
  24. file — a tool

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