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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. game — wild animals
  3. season — in sport
  4. game — a match
  5. rash — hasty
  6. net — in sport
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. spell — a short time
  10. last — to go on
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. net — for catching
  14. season — of the year
  15. stem — to come from
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. net — after costs
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. spell — magic
  21. last — final
  22. rash — a series
  23. spell — letters
  24. fan — a supporter

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