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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — final
  3. last — to go on
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. bat — the animal
  6. season — in sport
  7. pitch — completely
  8. season — of the year
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. rock — a stone
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. game — a match
  22. game — wild animals
  23. date — the fruit
  24. rock — 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