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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. season — in sport
  3. prune — to trim
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. saw — the tool
  7. charge — electricity
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. court — of a king
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. charge — a price
  13. prune — to trim
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. season — of the year
  16. saw — the tool
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. charge — in control
  19. court — of law
  20. court — for sport
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. last — to go on
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. last — finally

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