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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. net — for catching
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. last — final
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. net — after costs
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. pit — a hole
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. drill — a practice
  11. spring — a coil
  12. last — finally
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cell — in biology
  15. drill — army training
  16. spring — the season
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. net — in sport
  19. pit — in a race
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. spring — of water
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. drill — the tool

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