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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — letters
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. net — after costs
  5. season — of the year
  6. field — for sport
  7. season — in sport
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. ground — a position
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. field — farmland
  12. ground — the earth
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. chip — for betting
  15. spell — a short time
  16. ground — crushed
  17. net — in sport
  18. chip — to eat
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. ball — a dance
  21. net — for catching
  22. field — a subject
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. ball — a great time

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