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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. fall — to drop
  3. spell — magic
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. rush — hurry
  6. last — final
  7. spell — a short time
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. content — happy
  10. last — to go on
  11. stock — shares
  12. content — the amount
  13. stock — goods
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. swing — in golf
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. swing — music
  20. fall — the season
  21. fall — to drop
  22. spell — letters
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. swing — to play on

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