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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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. stock — goods
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bound — obliged
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. rock — music
  11. bound — certain
  12. stock — shares
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. bound — tied together
  15. rock — a stone
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — in cards
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. last — finally

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