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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — finally
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. rush — hurry
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. bat — the animal
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. snap — to click
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. mark — a grade
  20. pitch — completely
  21. mark — a trace
  22. last — to go on
  23. rock — a stone
  24. rock — music

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