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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  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. mate — a friend
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — the season
  5. club — for dancing
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. hand — in cards
  8. last — finally
  9. last — to go on
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. club — a group
  14. mate — a partner
  15. mate — to breed
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. hand — help
  18. file — a line of people
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. fall — to drop
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. file — a document
  23. club — for golf
  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