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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 120 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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. rest — a break
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. last — to go on
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. club — for golf
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. last — final
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. suit — clothes
  16. wound — an injury
  17. club — a group
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. suit — in cards
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. last — finally
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — what's left
  24. club — for dancing

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