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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. net — in sport
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. rash — a series
  7. net — after costs
  8. mine — for digging
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — to grow
  11. hand — in cards
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. hand — help
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. stand — to bear
  16. net — for catching
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rash — hasty
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. season — of the year
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. leaves — of a tree

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