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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. chest — of your body
  3. last — finally
  4. pop — soda
  5. cue — for pool
  6. hand — in cards
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. deal — to handle
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. cue — a hint
  11. row — to paddle
  12. sharp — clever
  13. row — a line
  14. last — to go on
  15. cue — a signal
  16. chest — a box
  17. hand — help
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. pop — to visit
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pop — music
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. deal — a big deal

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