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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. last — final
  3. file — a tool
  4. object — an aim
  5. rash — hasty
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — finally
  9. object — to protest
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. pop — music
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. pop — soda
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a line of people
  16. season — in sport
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. rash — a series
  19. object — a thing
  20. pop — to visit
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. kick — in football
  24. kick — a thrill

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