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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 120 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. last — finally
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. suit — clothes
  6. scale — in music
  7. suit — to fit
  8. field — a subject
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. rule — government
  12. rule — a law
  13. last — final
  14. wound — an injury
  15. suit — in cards
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. scale — size or range
  18. bat — the animal
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. field — for sport
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. field — farmland
  24. scale — for weighing

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