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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. wind — moving air
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. last — final
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. last — finally
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. roll — a list
  11. wind — moving air
  12. chest — a box
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. wound — an injury
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. toast — bread
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. roll — a cake
  24. chest — of your body

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