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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. land — ground
  4. land — to come down
  5. last — final
  6. cell — in biology
  7. season — of the year
  8. season — in sport
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. object — an aim
  11. last — finally
  12. land — a country
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. cell — a phone
  16. object — to protest
  17. last — to go on
  18. object — a thing

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