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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — finally
  3. file — a line of people
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. mark — a grade
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. last — final
  8. row — a line
  9. sharp — clever
  10. ground — a position
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. ground — the earth
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. court — of a king
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a document
  18. mark — a trace
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. court — of law
  22. row — to paddle
  23. ground — crushed
  24. court — for sport

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