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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. last — final
  3. kid — child
  4. bark — to shout
  5. march — the month
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. key — in music
  8. march — the month
  9. last — to go on
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. march — music
  12. last — finally
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. key — for a lock
  16. saw — the tool
  17. fine — high quality
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. kid — to tease
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. key — the most important part
  24. saw — the 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