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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. hand — help
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. last — finally
  5. last — to go on
  6. mate — to breed
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. season — of the year
  10. pop — music
  11. season — in sport
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. last — final
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. mate — a friend
  17. mate — a partner
  18. sharp — clever
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. pop — to visit
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. pop — soda
  24. safe — a strongbox

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