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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. bank — for money
  4. spell — a short time
  5. spell — magic
  6. bass — low music
  7. mark — a grade
  8. mark — a trace
  9. bank — for money
  10. cell — a phone
  11. last — final
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. file — a tool
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. last — finally
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. spell — letters
  19. file — a document
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bass — the fish
  22. file — a line of people
  23. bank — of a river
  24. rush — hurry

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