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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. track — a song
  5. saw — the tool
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. last — final
  8. last — finally
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. saw — the tool
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. tube — the underground
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. track — a path
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — in cards
  20. track — to keep track
  21. foot — a measure
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. tube — a container
  24. tube — in a tire

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