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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. mate — to breed
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. last — to go on
  5. key — for a lock
  6. race — the arms race
  7. mate — a friend
  8. key — the most important part
  9. race — a contest
  10. mate — a partner
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. bat — the animal
  14. last — finally
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. shower — rain
  18. key — in music
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. race — humankind
  22. shower — to wash
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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