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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. can — a tin
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. last — final
  6. march — the month
  7. file — a tool
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. season — in sport
  10. file — a document
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. can — a tin
  13. kid — to tease
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. march — the month
  16. file — a line of people
  17. last — finally
  18. march — music
  19. court — of law
  20. court — of a king
  21. last — to go on
  22. season — of the year
  23. kid — child
  24. court — for sport

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