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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: ball · rest · season · pitcher · hand · last · tube · pass

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. rest — what's left
  3. last — to go on
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. tube — the underground
  6. ball — a dance
  7. season — in sport
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. rest — what's left
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. ball — a great time
  13. season — of the year
  14. pass — a permit
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. rest — a break
  17. tube — a container
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. last — final
  22. hand — help
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. last — finally

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