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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. last — finally
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. band — a ring
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mark — a grade
  7. last — final
  8. mate — a friend
  9. rest — what's left
  10. mate — to breed
  11. season — in sport
  12. tear — from crying
  13. mate — a partner
  14. rest — what's left
  15. mine — for digging
  16. season — of the year
  17. last — to go on
  18. rest — a break
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. tear — from crying
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. tear — to rip

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