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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 120 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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — an illness
  5. last — finally
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. last — to go on
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. dip — to sink
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. rush — hurry
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. foot — a measure
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. rule — a law
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. pass — a permit
  23. bat — the animal
  24. rule — government

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