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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. game — wild animals
  5. cell — a phone
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. wound — an injury
  9. last — finally
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — in biology
  12. staff — employees
  13. game — a match
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. staff — employees
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. perch — the fish
  20. last — to go on
  21. staff — a stick
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. wound — an injury

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