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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. field — for sport
  3. last — to go on
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. ball — a dance
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. drill — army training
  13. lean — thin
  14. field — farmland
  15. last — finally
  16. drill — the tool
  17. spell — a short time
  18. drill — a practice
  19. tear — from crying
  20. lean — to bend
  21. spell — magic
  22. spell — letters
  23. field — a subject
  24. ball — a great time

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