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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. scale — in music
  3. saw — the tool
  4. last — final
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. season — of the year
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. season — in sport
  11. scale — size or range
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cell — in biology
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. last — finally
  17. hand — in cards
  18. last — to go on
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cell — a phone
  23. hand — help
  24. leaves — of a tree

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