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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 116 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. season — in sport
  3. last — finally
  4. fine — high quality
  5. current — happening now
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. mark — a trace
  8. current — electric
  9. last — final
  10. file — a tool
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. fine — all right
  14. mark — a grade
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. season — of the year
  17. squash — to crush
  18. file — a document
  19. last — to go on
  20. current — of water
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. squash — the sport
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. file — a line of people

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