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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. wind — moving air
  5. content — happy
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. content — the amount
  8. season — of the year
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. deal — to handle
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. last — final
  15. last — to go on
  16. chair — a leader
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. can — a tin
  19. wind — moving air
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. can — to be able to
  22. can — a tin
  23. season — in sport
  24. season — to add flavour

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