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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. court — for sport
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. last — to go on
  7. court — of law
  8. stand — to bear
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. kick — in football
  14. sharp — clever
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — ground
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. rest — what's left
  19. last — finally
  20. rest — a break
  21. rest — what's left
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. court — of a king
  24. land — a country

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