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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — final
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. fall — the season
  5. board — a committee
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — to get on
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. cold — an illness
  10. last — to go on
  11. can — to be able to
  12. fall — to drop
  13. cold — not warm
  14. ball — a dance
  15. rest — what's left
  16. can — a tin
  17. rest — what's left
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. snap — to click
  20. rest — a break
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. can — a tin
  23. fall — to drop
  24. ball — a great time

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