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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. band — a music group
  3. last — finally
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. last — to go on
  7. track — a song
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. track — to keep track
  13. sharp — clever
  14. chip — for betting
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. scale — size or range
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. mine — for digging
  19. band — a ring
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. chip — to eat
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. scale — in music
  24. track — a path

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