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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — in sport
  4. last — final
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. mark — a trace
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. file — a document
  12. rest — what's left
  13. last — to go on
  14. net — after costs
  15. file — a line of people
  16. bass — the fish
  17. file — a tool
  18. kid — child
  19. rest — a break
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bass — low music
  22. season — of the year
  23. season — in sport
  24. mark — a grade

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