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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: last · rest · cold · fine · stick · date · mouse · board

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. last — final
  4. board — a committee
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. fine — high quality
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. last — finally
  10. fine — all right
  11. rest — a break
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. rest — what's left
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. last — to go on
  19. cold — not warm
  20. board — to get on
  21. cold — an illness
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — the fruit
  24. rest — what's left

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