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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — final
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. net — in sport
  5. shower — rain
  6. land — to come down
  7. net — after costs
  8. can — to be able to
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. net — for catching
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. shower — to wash
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. rock — music
  16. land — a country
  17. land — ground
  18. can — a tin
  19. rock — a stone
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. last — to go on
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. can — a tin

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