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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: staff · current · chest · bay · roll · wound · last · fine

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. chest — of your body
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. staff — a stick
  5. wound — an injury
  6. staff — employees
  7. fine — high quality
  8. last — final
  9. roll — a cake
  10. current — of water
  11. last — finally
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. staff — employees
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. chest — a box
  17. current — electric
  18. wound — an injury
  19. roll — a list
  20. last — to go on
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. chest — of your body
  23. current — happening now
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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