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

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. saw — the tool
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. last — finally
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — a match
  7. ground — a position
  8. game — wild animals
  9. ground — the earth
  10. saw — the tool
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. ground — crushed
  13. last — to go on
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. season — of the year
  16. season — in sport
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wake — before a funeral

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