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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — all right
  3. last — final
  4. game — wild animals
  5. roll — a cake
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — a match
  9. cell — in biology
  10. last — to go on
  11. roll — a list
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. cell — a phone
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. last — finally
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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