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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. last — to go on
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — a video
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. last — finally
  10. prune — to trim
  11. season — of the year
  12. season — in sport
  13. fine — high quality
  14. clip — to cut
  15. last — final
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. cold — an illness
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. fine — all right
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. safe — a strongbox

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