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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  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. last — to go on
  2. last — finally
  3. key — for a lock
  4. rest — a break
  5. hand — in cards
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. drill — the tool
  8. rest — what's left
  9. drill — a practice
  10. hand — help
  11. rest — what's left
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. key — in music
  14. key — the most important part
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a music group
  17. content — happy
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. content — the amount
  22. leaves — lets stay
  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