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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. wound — an injury
  6. last — final
  7. last — to go on
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. march — the month
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. last — finally
  12. spring — the season
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. march — the month
  18. spring — of water
  19. pass — a permit
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. march — music
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bat — the animal

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