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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. date — the fruit
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. last — finally
  7. lean — thin
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. lean — to bend
  10. bank — for money
  11. bank — for money
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. bank — of a river
  15. last — final
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bat — the animal
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. bat — for baseball

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