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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — of the year
  3. land — a country
  4. bat — the animal
  5. staff — a stick
  6. deal — to handle
  7. land — ground
  8. spell — magic
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. spell — letters
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. spell — a short time
  18. band — a ring
  19. staff — employees
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. staff — employees
  22. land — to come down
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. band — a music group

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