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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. last — final
  3. last — to go on
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — in sport
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. field — a subject
  8. staff — employees
  9. fall — the season
  10. wind — moving air
  11. last — finally
  12. field — for sport
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. field — farmland
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. staff — employees
  17. wind — moving air
  18. fall — to drop
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. rule — government
  22. staff — a stick
  23. fall — to drop
  24. rule — a law

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