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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 116 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 keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. track — to keep track
  3. rash — hasty
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. cue — a hint
  7. track — a song
  8. last — finally
  9. season — in sport
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. track — a path
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. mine — for digging
  18. season — of the year
  19. last — to go on
  20. cue — for pool
  21. rash — a series
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. cue — a signal
  24. patient — a sick person

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