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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. object — an aim
  3. object — a thing
  4. drill — army training
  5. rest — a break
  6. last — finally
  7. shower — to wash
  8. last — to go on
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. drill — a practice
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — help
  13. drill — the tool
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. cap — a lid
  16. rock — a stone
  17. object — to protest
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rock — music
  20. cap — a hat
  21. shower — rain
  22. cap — of ice
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. rest — what's left

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