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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. rash — hasty
  3. net — for catching
  4. fine — all right
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. net — after costs
  7. last — to go on
  8. season — in sport
  9. rash — a series
  10. last — finally
  11. land — a country
  12. cue — a hint
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. net — in sport
  15. last — final
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. cue — for pool
  18. season — of the year
  19. fine — high quality
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. land — ground
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. cue — a signal
  24. pass — a permit

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