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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. net — after costs
  4. season — of the year
  5. race — humankind
  6. net — in sport
  7. race — the arms race
  8. rash — a series
  9. rash — hasty
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. swing — in golf
  12. net — for catching
  13. field — for sport
  14. swing — music
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. season — in sport
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — farmland
  23. swing — to play on
  24. race — a contest

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