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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. season — of the year
  5. file — a tool
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. last — to go on
  8. cap — a lid
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. file — a document
  13. cap — a hat
  14. file — a line of people
  15. last — finally
  16. last — final
  17. wind — moving air
  18. ball — a great time
  19. fork — in a road
  20. ball — a dance
  21. season — in sport
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. cap — of ice

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