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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. track — to keep track
  3. pass — a permit
  4. last — final
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. net — in sport
  7. suit — in cards
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. suit — clothes
  10. snap — to click
  11. last — finally
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. track — a path
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. net — for catching
  21. track — a song
  22. net — after costs
  23. last — to go on
  24. wound — an injury

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