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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 116 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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — finally
  3. fine — all right
  4. key — the most important part
  5. chair — a leader
  6. suit — to fit
  7. file — a document
  8. key — for a lock
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. last — to go on
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. saw — the tool
  13. suit — in cards
  14. suit — clothes
  15. spring — a coil
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. key — in music
  18. fine — high quality
  19. spring — of water
  20. spring — the season
  21. saw — the tool
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a tool
  24. chair — to sit 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