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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. fine — all right
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. deal — to handle
  6. land — ground
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. fine — high quality
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. last — to go on
  13. pitch — completely
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. season — of the year
  17. last — finally
  18. land — to come down
  19. snap — to click
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. last — final
  24. land — a country

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