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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — in sport
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. snap — to click
  6. net — after costs
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. net — for catching
  9. mate — to breed
  10. net — in sport
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wound — an injury
  14. mate — a partner
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. fall — the season
  18. swing — music
  19. wound — an injury
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. swing — in golf
  22. swing — to play on
  23. mate — a friend
  24. fall — to drop

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