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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. spell — a short time
  3. season — in sport
  4. season — of the year
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. spell — letters
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — for sport
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. wake — a trail
  17. field — a subject
  18. content — the amount
  19. spell — magic
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. last — finally
  22. last — to go on
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. content — happy

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