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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 116 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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  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. deal — an agreement
  2. season — in sport
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. file — a line of people
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. cap — a hat
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. file — a document
  11. key — for a lock
  12. key — the most important part
  13. last — final
  14. file — a tool
  15. key — in music
  16. mine — for digging
  17. cap — a lid
  18. deal — to handle
  19. bat — the animal
  20. season — of the year
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. last — to go on
  23. cap — of ice
  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