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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 124 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — finally
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. fine — high quality
  7. last — to go on
  8. spell — letters
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bass — low music
  11. spell — magic
  12. land — to come down
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. land — ground
  15. chest — a box
  16. fine — all right
  17. land — a country
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. spell — a short time
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. racket — for tennis

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