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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. season — in sport
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. last — finally
  5. root — of a plant
  6. chair — a leader
  7. deal — to handle
  8. season — of the year
  9. drill — the tool
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. root — of a word
  18. drill — a practice
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. root — the cause
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. last — to go on
  24. drill — army training

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