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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. last — finally
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. last — to go on
  6. cell — a phone
  7. last — final
  8. tube — the underground
  9. cell — in biology
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. spell — a short time
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. season — in sport
  16. season — of the year
  17. rush — hurry
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. spell — magic
  23. bark — to shout
  24. tube — a container

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