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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  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. staff — a stick
  2. last — to go on
  3. rash — a series
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. cap — a hat
  7. last — final
  8. cap — a lid
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. staff — employees
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — to wash
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. cap — of ice
  15. shower — rain
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. last — finally
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. staff — employees
  21. rash — hasty
  22. dip — to sink
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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