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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. last — to go on
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. rock — a stone
  5. file — a line of people
  6. cell — a phone
  7. last — finally
  8. file — a document
  9. chest — of your body
  10. mate — a friend
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. file — a tool
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. last — final
  15. rock — music
  16. chest — a box
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. chest — of your body
  19. season — of the year
  20. kid — child
  21. cell — in biology
  22. kid — to tease
  23. mate — to breed
  24. mate — a partner

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