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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. mug — to rob
  3. fall — the season
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. board — a committee
  6. march — music
  7. hand — help
  8. fall — to drop
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. last — finally
  12. mug — a cup
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. march — the month
  15. last — to go on
  16. fall — to drop
  17. board — to get on
  18. sharp — clever
  19. hand — in cards
  20. mug — a face
  21. march — the month
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. cabinet — ministers

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