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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. chip — for betting
  5. court — for sport
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. can — a tin
  8. spell — a short time
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — final
  12. spell — letters
  13. wind — moving air
  14. chip — to eat
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. court — of a king
  17. spell — magic
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. can — a tin
  20. court — of law
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. pitch — completely
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. can — to be able to

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