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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — in sport
  3. present — there
  4. band — a ring
  5. content — happy
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. band — a music group
  10. present — the time now
  11. content — the amount
  12. board — to get on
  13. last — final
  14. board — a committee
  15. season — of the year
  16. tear — from crying
  17. present — a gift
  18. staff — employees
  19. staff — employees
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. last — finally
  23. last — to go on
  24. staff — a stick

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