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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. file — a line of people
  3. tube — the underground
  4. last — final
  5. shower — to wash
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. last — to go on
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. shower — rain
  10. tube — a container
  11. craft — a skill
  12. wake — a trail
  13. craft — boats
  14. file — a document
  15. rest — what's left
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. rest — a break
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. file — a tool
  21. last — finally
  22. court — of law
  23. rest — what's left
  24. court — of a king

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