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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. squash — to crush
  3. cell — in biology
  4. squash — the sport
  5. track — a path
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. game — a match
  8. saw — the tool
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. track — a song
  11. stock — shares
  12. current — happening now
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. game — wild animals
  15. saw — the tool
  16. cell — a phone
  17. current — electric
  18. last — finally
  19. current — of water
  20. stock — goods
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. track — to keep track
  23. last — final
  24. cell — in a prison

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