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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. season — in sport
  4. track — a path
  5. chest — of your body
  6. track — a song
  7. track — to keep track
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — of the year
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. last — to go on
  14. roll — a list
  15. firm — decided
  16. last — finally
  17. rule — a law
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. firm — a company
  20. roll — a cake
  21. chest — a box
  22. rule — government
  23. chest — of your body
  24. firm — steady

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