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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. rash — hasty
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a line of people
  6. last — to go on
  7. season — of the year
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. last — final
  11. land — a country
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — ground
  14. fine — high quality
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. fine — all right
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. prune — to trim
  19. file — a tool
  20. season — in sport
  21. prune — to trim
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. last — finally
  24. season — to add flavour

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