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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 120 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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. object — an aim
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. season — of the year
  6. season — in sport
  7. fine — high quality
  8. mate — a friend
  9. field — farmland
  10. rush — hurry
  11. drill — army training
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. mate — to breed
  14. object — to protest
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. field — a subject
  17. game — a match
  18. mate — a partner
  19. field — for sport
  20. drill — a practice
  21. game — wild animals
  22. drill — the tool
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. object — a thing

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