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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. last — finally
  3. can — a tin
  4. last — to go on
  5. march — the month
  6. can — a tin
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. cold — not warm
  9. march — the month
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. spell — a short time
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. cold — an illness
  19. can — to be able to
  20. spell — letters
  21. last — final
  22. rule — government
  23. rule — a law
  24. march — music

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