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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 116 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  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. kid — to tease
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. spell — magic
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. kid — child
  11. spell — letters
  12. last — finally
  13. lean — to bend
  14. wake — a trail
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. bat — the animal
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. pass — a permit
  20. last — final
  21. lean — thin
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. coach — a trainer
  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