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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. swing — in golf
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. season — of the year
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. net — after costs
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — the animal
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. land — a country
  15. season — in sport
  16. land — ground
  17. swing — to play on
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. net — in sport
  20. fork — in a road
  21. net — for catching
  22. swing — music
  23. land — to come down
  24. wax — to grow

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