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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 120 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. pitch — completely
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. season — of the year
  6. court — of a king
  7. court — of law
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. bark — to shout
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. last — final
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. court — for sport
  14. last — to go on
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. tube — the underground
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. tube — a container
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. season — in sport

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