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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 116 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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. cold — not warm
  5. last — finally
  6. season — in sport
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pass — a permit
  9. mate — to breed
  10. club — for dancing
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. club — a group
  14. last — final
  15. season — of the year
  16. current — electric
  17. perch — the fish
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. current — happening now
  20. current — of water
  21. mate — a friend
  22. last — to go on
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. mate — a partner

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