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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rest — a break
  3. rest — what's left
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. track — a path
  6. net — after costs
  7. track — a song
  8. last — to go on
  9. net — for catching
  10. fine — high quality
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. track — to keep track
  13. last — finally
  14. scale — size or range
  15. fine — all right
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. row — to paddle
  18. last — final
  19. net — in sport
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. scale — in music
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — a line

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