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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. ball — a dance
  3. season — of the year
  4. press — a publisher
  5. last — finally
  6. kid — to tease
  7. last — final
  8. season — in sport
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. rash — hasty
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. ball — a great time
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. press — to push
  18. press — newspapers
  19. game — a match
  20. plane — a tool
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. rash — a series
  23. game — wild animals
  24. kid — child

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