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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — in sport
  3. cell — a phone
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. shower — to wash
  6. pass — a permit
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. present — the time now
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. present — a gift
  12. present — there
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. deal — to handle
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. pound — a weight
  22. cell — in biology
  23. shower — rain
  24. cell — in a prison

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