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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. tear — to rip
  3. season — in sport
  4. board — a committee
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. hand — help
  7. last — to go on
  8. tear — from crying
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. net — after costs
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. tear — from crying
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. fork — in a road
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. board — to get on
  18. net — for catching
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. season — of the year
  21. hand — in cards
  22. net — in sport
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. last — finally

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