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

Word bank: saw · last · track · wake · rest · pop · rule · nail

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. rest — a break
  3. track — a song
  4. pop — music
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. pop — soda
  8. rest — what's left
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. last — finally
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. wake — a trail
  13. pop — to visit
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. rest — what's left
  16. last — to go on
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. track — to keep track
  19. rule — a law
  20. saw — the tool
  21. rule — government
  22. saw — the tool
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. track — a path

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