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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. last — final
  6. mate — a friend
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. rush — hurry
  14. mate — a partner
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. last — to go on
  18. mate — to breed
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — help
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — a stick
  23. staff — employees
  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