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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — to go on
  3. rush — hurry
  4. last — final
  5. bass — low music
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. pop — music
  8. bank — for money
  9. file — a line of people
  10. pop — to visit
  11. track — a path
  12. bass — the fish
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. bank — for money
  16. bank — of a river
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. track — to keep track
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a document
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. pop — soda
  23. track — a song
  24. bowl — a dish

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