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

Word bank: bowl · wake · season · drill · last · chair · snap · mark

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. season — in sport
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. drill — a practice
  6. drill — the tool
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. last — finally
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. snap — to click
  12. mark — a trace
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. drill — army training
  16. season — of the year
  17. last — final
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. wake — a trail
  21. chair — a leader
  22. mark — a grade
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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