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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. bark — to shout
  3. season — in sport
  4. mate — to breed
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. last — final
  8. court — for sport
  9. can — to be able to
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. court — of law
  13. mate — a friend
  14. last — to go on
  15. fall — to drop
  16. court — of a king
  17. fall — the season
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. fall — to drop
  20. season — of the year
  21. mate — a partner
  22. can — a tin
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. can — a tin

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