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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. drill — army training
  3. last — to go on
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. last — final
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. lean — thin
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — of law
  12. last — finally
  13. can — a tin
  14. lean — to bend
  15. cell — a phone
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. rush — hurry
  18. drill — a practice
  19. can — to be able to
  20. cell — in biology
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. court — for sport
  23. drill — the tool
  24. can — a tin

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