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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. season — of the year
  3. rock — a stone
  4. content — happy
  5. season — in sport
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. track — a path
  9. track — a song
  10. net — for catching
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — a country
  13. spell — letters
  14. net — in sport
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. track — to keep track
  17. spell — magic
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. spell — a short time
  21. content — the amount
  22. net — after costs
  23. rock — music
  24. pitcher — a jug

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