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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — in sport
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. season — of the year
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. last — finally
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. rash — hasty
  17. season — in sport
  18. net — for catching
  19. hand — in cards
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. rash — a series
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. hand — help
  24. last — final

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