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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rest — what's left
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. last — final
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. drill — army training
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. band — a music group
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. rest — a break
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. branch — a division
  16. band — a ring
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. wake — a trail
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — a practice
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. last — finally
  24. last — to go 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