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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. season — in sport
  3. last — final
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. pit — a hole
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. game — wild animals
  9. pit — in a race
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. season — of the year
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. game — a match
  21. kid — child
  22. sharp — clever
  23. last — to go on
  24. kid — to tease

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