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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. last — to go on
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. season — of the year
  11. mine — for digging
  12. cell — in biology
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. net — in sport
  15. cell — a phone
  16. last — finally
  17. net — for catching
  18. pitch — completely
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. net — after costs
  24. fork — in a road

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