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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 father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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. arm — part of the body
  4. cold — not warm
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. mark — a trace
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. cold — an illness
  14. fall — to drop
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. fall — the season
  19. last — finally
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. mark — a grade
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. fall — to drop
  24. leaves — to go away

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