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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. row — a line
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. rule — a law
  5. spring — of water
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — a coil
  16. last — to go on
  17. rule — government
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. last — finally
  22. rush — hurry
  23. chair — a leader
  24. chair — a professorship

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