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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. net — in sport
  3. season — in sport
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. face — part of the head
  6. cue — a hint
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. kid — child
  9. cue — a signal
  10. face — to confront
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. chest — of your body
  13. staff — employees
  14. cue — for pool
  15. mine — for digging
  16. kid — to tease
  17. net — after costs
  18. chest — a box
  19. staff — a stick
  20. chest — of your body
  21. face — to point toward
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. net — for catching
  24. staff — employees

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