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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. object — an aim
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. last — finally
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. sharp — clever
  9. mate — a partner
  10. mate — to breed
  11. pass — a permit
  12. mate — a friend
  13. object — to protest
  14. last — to go on
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. bulb — for light
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — to wash
  20. bulb — for light
  21. wind — moving air
  22. object — a thing
  23. wind — moving air
  24. sharp — exactly

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