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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. spell — a short time
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. last — finally
  5. spell — magic
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. net — after costs
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. staff — employees
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. spell — letters
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. last — to go on
  18. net — for catching
  19. saw — the tool
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. saw — the tool
  22. staff — employees
  23. net — in sport
  24. staff — a stick

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