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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. hand — help
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rest — a break
  5. rest — what's left
  6. content — happy
  7. rash — a series
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. current — electric
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. current — happening now
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. rest — what's left
  16. hand — in cards
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. last — finally
  21. content — the amount
  22. last — final
  23. current — of water
  24. leaves — to go away

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