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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — final
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. spell — magic
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. staff — a stick
  9. spell — letters
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. staff — employees
  12. rush — hurry
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. mate — to breed
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. spell — a short time
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. wound — an injury
  21. mate — a partner
  22. mate — a friend
  23. last — to go on
  24. staff — employees

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