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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: content · season · file · nail · sharp · hand · mate · last

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. content — the amount
  5. hand — in cards
  6. last — finally
  7. file — a document
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. sharp — clever
  11. hand — help
  12. mate — a partner
  13. file — a line of people
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. file — a tool
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. season — of the year
  18. content — happy
  19. mate — to breed
  20. last — to go on
  21. season — in sport
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. mate — a friend
  24. nail — on a finger

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