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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: game · ground · file · cell · deal · last · net · season

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. file — a tool
  3. last — finally
  4. last — to go on
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — in biology
  7. ground — crushed
  8. deal — to handle
  9. net — after costs
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. file — a line of people
  13. season — in sport
  14. net — for catching
  15. ground — the earth
  16. file — a document
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. cell — a phone
  19. season — of the year
  20. ground — a position
  21. net — in sport
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. game — a match
  24. last — final

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