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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. cell — a phone
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. track — a song
  5. content — the amount
  6. cell — in biology
  7. track — to keep track
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. rest — a break
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. rest — what's left
  12. last — finally
  13. season — in sport
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. content — happy
  17. track — a path
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. season — of the year
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. last — final
  23. rest — what's left
  24. last — to go on

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