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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. cell — a phone
  3. file — a line of people
  4. last — finally
  5. last — final
  6. hand — in cards
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. last — to go on
  9. ground — the earth
  10. season — in sport
  11. ground — a position
  12. season — of the year
  13. cell — in biology
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. hand — help
  16. board — to get on
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. file — a document
  19. craft — a skill
  20. ground — crushed
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. craft — boats
  23. board — a committee
  24. craft — a handicraft

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