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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. fine — high quality
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. season — of the year
  6. season — in sport
  7. pop — to visit
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. sharp — clever
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. pop — soda
  13. last — finally
  14. fine — all right
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. last — final
  21. pop — music
  22. bark — to shout
  23. last — to go on
  24. mouse — the animal

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