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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 116 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. ground — a position
  3. race — a contest
  4. staff — a stick
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. ground — crushed
  7. staff — employees
  8. last — to go on
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. cell — in biology
  11. tube — the underground
  12. spell — a short time
  13. last — finally
  14. squash — the sport
  15. staff — employees
  16. race — the arms race
  17. ground — the earth
  18. race — humankind
  19. tube — a container
  20. cell — a phone
  21. squash — to crush
  22. spell — magic
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. spell — letters

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