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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hand · last · pitch · toast · spring · fine · track · cell

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — in cards
  4. track — a path
  5. spring — the season
  6. last — final
  7. last — to go on
  8. cell — in biology
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. pitch — completely
  11. track — a song
  12. cell — a phone
  13. hand — help
  14. last — finally
  15. track — to keep track
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. fine — all right
  18. fine — high quality
  19. spring — of water
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. toast — bread
  22. spring — a coil
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. cell — in a prison

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