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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: chest · cap · deal · mark · last · present · fine · season

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. deal — to handle
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. fine — all right
  5. chest — of your body
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. fine — high quality
  8. last — finally
  9. season — of the year
  10. present — a gift
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cap — a lid
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. present — the time now
  16. last — final
  17. last — to go on
  18. season — in sport
  19. chest — a box
  20. chest — of your body
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. mark — a trace
  23. present — there
  24. mark — a grade

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