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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — finally
  3. chip — for betting
  4. key — for a lock
  5. mate — to breed
  6. fine — all right
  7. game — a match
  8. cold — not warm
  9. chip — to eat
  10. cold — an illness
  11. mark — a trace
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. key — in music
  14. game — wild animals
  15. last — to go on
  16. key — the most important part
  17. mate — a friend
  18. mate — a partner
  19. fine — high quality
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. mark — a grade
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. mark — to pay attention

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