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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. season — in sport
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. cold — not warm
  8. land — a country
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. kick — in football
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. land — to come down
  17. cold — an illness
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. present — a gift
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. present — there
  22. present — the time now
  23. season — of the year
  24. lie — to recline

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