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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 124 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. hand — help
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. land — ground
  5. court — of law
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. land — a country
  8. present — a gift
  9. club — for golf
  10. present — the time now
  11. land — to come down
  12. season — of the year
  13. season — in sport
  14. court — for sport
  15. club — a group
  16. club — for dancing
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. last — finally
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. last — final
  21. present — there
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. court — of a king
  24. hand — in cards

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