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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. season — in sport
  5. key — in music
  6. can — to be able to
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. lean — to bend
  9. key — for a lock
  10. key — the most important part
  11. ground — crushed
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. ground — the earth
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. saw — the tool
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — a tin
  18. saw — the tool
  19. lean — thin
  20. game — a match
  21. ground — a position
  22. game — wild animals
  23. season — of the year
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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