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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. file — a tool
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. rest — a break
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. rash — hasty
  8. file — a document
  9. file — a line of people
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. rest — what's left
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. last — final
  14. rash — a series
  15. rest — what's left
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. plane — a tool
  20. last — finally
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. last — to go on
  24. wake — a trail

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