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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. season — of the year
  4. foot — a measure
  5. rock — a stone
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. game — a match
  14. net — after costs
  15. game — wild animals
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. season — in sport
  19. net — for catching
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. net — in sport
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. tear — from crying
  24. rock — to move gently

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