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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 116 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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bat — the animal
  5. rule — government
  6. rule — a law
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. staff — employees
  9. last — to go on
  10. season — of the year
  11. staff — employees
  12. kid — to tease
  13. key — the most important part
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. key — in music
  16. wind — moving air
  17. staff — a stick
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. wind — moving air
  21. key — for a lock
  22. last — final
  23. last — finally
  24. kid — child

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