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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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 speak sharply
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. bear — the animal
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. spring — of water
  11. snap — to click
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spring — the season
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. saw — the tool
  16. season — of the year
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. ball — a great time
  20. season — in sport
  21. last — finally
  22. last — final
  23. bear — the animal
  24. saw — the tool

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