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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. fine — all right
  5. last — final
  6. wind — moving air
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. last — finally
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. wind — moving air
  15. fine — high quality
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bat — the animal
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cell — a phone
  24. hide — to keep secret

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