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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 116 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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. bark — to shout
  5. track — a song
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. squash — to crush
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. last — to go on
  12. track — a path
  13. dip — to sink
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. shower — rain
  17. track — to keep track
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. saw — the tool
  20. squash — the sport
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. shower — to wash
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. last — finally

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