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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. last — finally
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. season — of the year
  5. last — to go on
  6. scale — size or range
  7. last — final
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. season — in sport
  13. band — a music group
  14. fine — all right
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. object — a thing
  21. band — a ring
  22. object — an aim
  23. scale — in music
  24. fine — high quality

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