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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. bear — the animal
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bound — certain
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. hand — help
  11. season — in sport
  12. bound — tied together
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. rash — hasty
  16. season — of the year
  17. rash — a series
  18. hand — in cards
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — rain
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. bound — obliged

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