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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. last — final
  4. season — of the year
  5. rule — a law
  6. rule — government
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. last — to go on
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. saw — the tool
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. can — a tin
  17. content — the amount
  18. season — in sport
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. can — to be able to
  22. last — finally
  23. content — happy
  24. can — a tin

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