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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. game — a match
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. last — finally
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. pit — a hole
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. hand — help
  10. squash — to crush
  11. season — of the year
  12. cell — in biology
  13. season — in sport
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. cell — a phone
  16. last — to go on
  17. hand — in cards
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — the tool
  21. squash — the sport
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. pit — in a race
  24. game — wild animals

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