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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. fine — all right
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. key — for a lock
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. shower — rain
  10. key — the most important part
  11. last — finally
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. key — in music
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. branch — a division
  17. last — final
  18. shower — to wash
  19. fine — high quality
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — belonging to me

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