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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. track — a song
  3. mate — a friend
  4. track — to keep track
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. mate — to breed
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. scale — in music
  10. wind — moving air
  11. track — a path
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. mate — a partner
  14. wound — an injury
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. chair — a leader
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wound — an injury
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. wind — moving air
  22. season — in sport
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. season — of the year

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