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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. last — finally
  5. content — happy
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. game — a match
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. bear — the animal
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. game — wild animals
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. last — to go on
  17. bear — the animal
  18. content — the amount
  19. last — final
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a ring
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. leaves — lets stay

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