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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. sharp — clever
  3. staff — a stick
  4. last — final
  5. plane — a tool
  6. last — finally
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. race — the arms race
  11. spell — magic
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. race — a contest
  14. spell — letters
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — employees
  17. rule — government
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. race — humankind
  22. rule — a law
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. spell — a short time

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