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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. track — to keep track
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. season — of the year
  5. rock — music
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. pitch — completely
  8. track — a song
  9. hand — help
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. rock — a stone
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. spell — magic
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. track — a path
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. spell — a short time
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. hand — in cards
  22. spell — letters
  23. season — in sport
  24. deal — to handle

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