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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. club — for dancing
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. last — finally
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. club — for golf
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. spell — letters
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. club — a group
  11. field — a subject
  12. spell — magic
  13. season — of the year
  14. spell — a short time
  15. season — in sport
  16. mine — for digging
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. rush — hurry
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — final
  22. field — farmland
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. field — for sport

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