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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. cold — not warm
  4. last — finally
  5. firm — a company
  6. rest — a break
  7. roll — a cake
  8. last — final
  9. mate — a partner
  10. plane — a tool
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. last — to go on
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. rest — what's left
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. mate — a friend
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cold — an illness
  21. mate — to breed
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. firm — steady
  24. roll — a list

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