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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. mark — a trace
  3. scale — in music
  4. last — to go on
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. scale — size or range
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. shower — to wash
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — for digging
  11. snap — to click
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. mark — a grade
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. shower — rain
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. last — finally
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. coach — a trainer

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