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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. mark — a grade
  4. last — final
  5. present — a gift
  6. mark — a trace
  7. last — finally
  8. field — a subject
  9. band — a ring
  10. firm — a company
  11. season — in sport
  12. present — the time now
  13. last — to go on
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. firm — decided
  16. present — there
  17. band — a music group
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — for sport
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. firm — steady

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