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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. rest — what's left
  3. season — of the year
  4. content — the amount
  5. cap — of ice
  6. rest — a break
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. ground — a position
  9. cap — a hat
  10. ground — crushed
  11. rest — what's left
  12. field — a subject
  13. cap — a lid
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. content — happy
  19. field — for sport
  20. ground — the earth
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. season — in sport
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. field — farmland

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