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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. snap — to click
  7. last — to go on
  8. perch — the fish
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. date — the fruit
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. last — final
  21. bat — the animal
  22. sharp — clever
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. sharp — exactly

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