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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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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. season — in sport
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. mate — to breed
  5. cell — a phone
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. scale — in music
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. cell — in biology
  11. rash — a series
  12. season — of the year
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. mate — a partner
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. scale — size or range
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. rash — hasty

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