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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. bat — the animal
  3. saw — the tool
  4. season — in sport
  5. last — to go on
  6. pass — a permit
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. bank — for money
  10. cue — a signal
  11. spring — the season
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. bank — for money
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. season — of the year
  17. spring — of water
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. last — finally
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bank — of a river
  22. last — final
  23. cue — for pool
  24. saw — the tool

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