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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. spell — letters
  3. last — to go on
  4. rule — a law
  5. season — in sport
  6. spell — magic
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. saw — the tool
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. saw — the tool
  11. capital — money
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. last — finally
  15. season — of the year
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. capital — a city
  20. rule — government
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. last — final
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. spell — a short time

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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