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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. net — in sport
  3. season — of the year
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. field — farmland
  7. cold — an illness
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. cold — not warm
  10. field — a subject
  11. bear — the animal
  12. chip — for betting
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. mate — a friend
  15. season — in sport
  16. mate — a partner
  17. net — for catching
  18. bear — the animal
  19. field — for sport
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. net — after costs
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. chip — to eat
  24. calf — a young animal

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