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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. season — of the year
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. cap — of ice
  6. lean — thin
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cell — a phone
  9. lie — to recline
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. last — to go on
  12. cap — a hat
  13. prune — to trim
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. season — in sport
  16. last — finally
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. lean — to bend
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. lie — an untruth

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