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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. game — a match
  3. season — in sport
  4. bear — the animal
  5. spell — magic
  6. last — final
  7. season — of the year
  8. spell — letters
  9. game — wild animals
  10. bank — for money
  11. spell — a short time
  12. stock — goods
  13. bank — for money
  14. last — to go on
  15. bear — the animal
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. bank — of a river
  19. stock — shares
  20. rule — a law
  21. rule — government
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. last — finally
  24. game — a kind of play

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