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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. last — to go on
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cap — a hat
  8. wake — a trail
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. drill — a practice
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. cap — a lid
  13. field — a subject
  14. cold — not warm
  15. drill — the tool
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. last — finally
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — farmland
  21. cap — of ice
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. drill — army training
  24. last — final

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