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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 120 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — finally
  3. cold — an illness
  4. pit — in a race
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — a committee
  8. saw — the tool
  9. court — of a king
  10. saw — the tool
  11. last — to go on
  12. pit — a hole
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. lean — to bend
  17. court — of law
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. lean — thin
  20. cold — not warm
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. board — to get on
  23. court — for sport
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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