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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. hand — in cards
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. dip — to sink
  8. board — to get on
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. mine — for digging
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. board — a committee
  13. last — finally
  14. last — to go on
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. hand — help
  18. season — of the year
  19. season — in sport
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. foot — a measure
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. last — final

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