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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 116 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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. saw — the tool
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. ball — a great time
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. rash — hasty
  11. ball — a dance
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. plane — a tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. cold — not warm
  17. content — the amount
  18. rash — a series
  19. season — in sport
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mine — for digging
  22. content — happy
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — an illness

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