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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. last — final
  3. last — finally
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. ball — a dance
  6. wake — a trail
  7. tube — the underground
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. tube — a container
  11. season — in sport
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — after costs
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. fork — in a road
  16. last — to go on
  17. net — for catching
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. rash — hasty
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. rash — a series
  24. ball — a great time

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