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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 120 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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. spell — letters
  3. firm — a company
  4. fall — to drop
  5. club — a group
  6. last — to go on
  7. club — for golf
  8. last — final
  9. chest — of your body
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. fall — the season
  12. firm — steady
  13. club — for dancing
  14. season — of the year
  15. fall — to drop
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. spell — a short time
  19. spell — magic
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. last — finally
  23. firm — decided
  24. mine — for digging

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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