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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — final
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. toast — bread
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. capital — money
  8. saw — the tool
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. saw — the tool
  11. last — to go on
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. fine — high quality
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. capital — a city
  19. fine — all right
  20. present — a gift
  21. present — the time now
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. present — there
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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