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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. ground — a position
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. game — wild animals
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bound — obliged
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. game — a match
  10. bound — certain
  11. bound — tied together
  12. saw — the tool
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. ground — the earth
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. ground — crushed
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. season — of the year
  22. last — final
  23. last — to go on
  24. last — finally

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