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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — a break
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. file — a tool
  8. pound — a weight
  9. kick — in football
  10. chest — a box
  11. current — happening now
  12. chest — of your body
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. last — finally
  17. pitch — completely
  18. current — of water
  19. rest — what's left
  20. current — electric
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a document
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. last — final

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