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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. last — finally
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. chest — a box
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. rash — a series
  9. chest — of your body
  10. ground — a position
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. ground — the earth
  14. last — final
  15. spell — a short time
  16. mark — a trace
  17. mark — a grade
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. chest — of your body
  20. ground — crushed
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. last — to go on
  23. spell — letters
  24. spell — magic

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