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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — help
  4. suit — to fit
  5. wind — moving air
  6. tube — a container
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. tube — the underground
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. suit — clothes
  13. last — finally
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. suit — in cards
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stem — to come from
  18. season — in sport
  19. last — final
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. deal — to handle
  22. season — of the year
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. season — to add flavour

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