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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — for golf
  3. season — of the year
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. face — part of the head
  6. season — in sport
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. last — to go on
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. face — to point toward
  12. kick — in football
  13. content — the amount
  14. club — a group
  15. last — final
  16. content — happy
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. face — to confront
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. last — finally
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. cabinet — ministers

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