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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. band — a music group
  11. sharp — clever
  12. last — final
  13. staff — a stick
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. band — a ring
  16. season — of the year
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — employees
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. scale — size or range
  21. season — in sport
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. scale — in music
  24. last — to go on

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