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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. last — to go on
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. squash — the sport
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. snap — to click
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pitch — completely
  14. sharp — clever
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. season — in sport
  17. season — of the year
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. last — finally
  21. mine — for digging
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. squash — to crush

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