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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 124 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — final
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — to drop
  5. spring — a coil
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. chair — a leader
  9. sharp — clever
  10. last — finally
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. bear — the animal
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — of water
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. track — to keep track
  19. fall — the season
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. bear — the animal
  22. track — a path
  23. track — a song
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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