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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. season — of the year
  4. drill — a practice
  5. net — in sport
  6. drill — army training
  7. net — for catching
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. net — after costs
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. drill — the tool
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. degree — temperature
  15. season — in sport
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. degree — an amount
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. bat — the animal
  21. degree — from a university
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. kick — in football
  24. pound — a weight

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