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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. last — finally
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. last — final
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. drill — a practice
  8. mug — a face
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. mug — a cup
  12. last — to go on
  13. foot — a measure
  14. drill — army training
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. mine — for digging
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. mug — to rob
  21. season — in sport
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. vault — a safe
  24. drill — 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