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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. mate — to breed
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — happy
  6. mate — a friend
  7. key — for a lock
  8. spell — a short time
  9. season — of the year
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — rain
  13. content — the amount
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. mate — a partner
  17. shower — to wash
  18. spell — letters
  19. key — the most important part
  20. key — in music
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. spell — magic
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. bark — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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