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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. last — final
  5. board — a committee
  6. shower — rain
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. shower — to wash
  9. bound — tied together
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. bound — certain
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. mark — a trace
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. bound — obliged
  22. last — finally
  23. mark — a grade
  24. board — to get on

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