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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — to go on
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. mine — for digging
  5. pit — a hole
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. last — finally
  8. rock — a stone
  9. present — there
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. press — newspapers
  12. march — the month
  13. rock — music
  14. present — a gift
  15. press — to push
  16. pit — in a race
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. pass — a permit
  19. march — music
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. march — the month
  22. press — a publisher
  23. present — the time now
  24. mine — belonging to me

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