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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. fine — all right
  3. ground — crushed
  4. last — finally
  5. last — to go on
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. object — to protest
  8. drill — the tool
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. object — an aim
  11. rash — a series
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. rash — hasty
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — the earth
  18. drill — a practice
  19. fine — high quality
  20. object — a thing
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. drill — army training
  23. vault — a safe
  24. fine — a penalty

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