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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. rash — hasty
  3. game — wild animals
  4. rash — a series
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. chest — a box
  7. last — final
  8. season — in sport
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — the fruit
  12. season — of the year
  13. chest — of your body
  14. game — a match
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. last — to go on
  17. drill — a practice
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. drill — the tool
  20. last — finally
  21. chest — of your body
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. wave — of the sea

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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