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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — to go on
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. object — a thing
  5. club — for dancing
  6. march — music
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. object — to protest
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. mark — a trace
  13. march — the month
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. object — an aim
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. last — final
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mark — a grade
  20. march — the month
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. club — a group
  24. club — for golf

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