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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — finally
  3. court — of law
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. squash — to crush
  7. pit — in a race
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. row — to paddle
  10. court — of a king
  11. row — a line
  12. court — for sport
  13. tube — the underground
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. pit — a hole
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. kick — in football
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. squash — the sport
  22. tube — a container
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. last — to go on

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