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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 116 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. snap — to click
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. last — final
  6. season — of the year
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. board — to get on
  11. cell — in biology
  12. season — in sport
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. last — finally
  15. cell — a phone
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. board — a committee
  18. wound — an injury
  19. sharp — clever
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. wound — an injury
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. pitch — completely

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