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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. track — a path
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. last — finally
  5. season — of the year
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. track — to keep track
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. last — final
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. cap — a lid
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. object — a thing
  15. season — in sport
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. cap — of ice
  19. object — to protest
  20. track — a song
  21. last — to go on
  22. object — an aim
  23. rush — hurry
  24. cap — a hat

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