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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 124 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. last — to go on
  4. file — a tool
  5. mug — a cup
  6. mug — a face
  7. swing — music
  8. sharp — clever
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. land — a country
  11. file — a document
  12. season — of the year
  13. file — a line of people
  14. land — ground
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. last — finally
  19. swing — in golf
  20. season — in sport
  21. mug — to rob
  22. swing — to play on
  23. last — final
  24. pass — a permit

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