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

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. season — of the year
  3. chest — of your body
  4. net — after costs
  5. mate — a friend
  6. season — in sport
  7. mate — a partner
  8. ball — a dance
  9. land — to come down
  10. net — for catching
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. land — ground
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. ball — a great time
  17. net — in sport
  18. land — a country

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