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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. perch — the fish
  3. last — final
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. bound — certain
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. last — to go on
  9. mate — a partner
  10. bound — tied together
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. bound — obliged
  13. season — of the year
  14. season — in sport
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. land — to come down
  17. foot — a measure
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. land — a country
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. rush — hurry
  22. mate — to breed
  23. land — ground
  24. mate — a friend

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