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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: row · suit · bat · pop · chest · rest · roll · last

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. rest — a break
  4. roll — a list
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. rest — what's left
  7. bat — the animal
  8. suit — to fit
  9. pop — soda
  10. roll — a cake
  11. row — a line
  12. row — to paddle
  13. last — finally
  14. chest — of your body
  15. rest — what's left
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. pop — music
  18. last — to go on
  19. chest — a box
  20. pop — to visit
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. chest — of your body
  23. suit — in cards
  24. suit — clothes

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