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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. bass — the fish
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. deal — to handle
  6. season — of the year
  7. shower — to wash
  8. ground — crushed
  9. last — to go on
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. ground — a position
  12. last — final
  13. shower — rain
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. bass — low music
  16. rest — a break
  17. season — in sport
  18. rest — what's left
  19. ground — the earth
  20. rest — what's left
  21. band — a ring
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. band — a music group

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