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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — final
  8. firm — decided
  9. game — a match
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. season — in sport
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. firm — a company
  14. rash — a series
  15. season — of the year
  16. cell — a phone
  17. rash — hasty
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — the animal
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. cell — in biology
  22. firm — steady
  23. last — finally
  24. game — wild animals

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