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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 116 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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. season — of the year
  3. ball — a great time
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. capital — money
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. capital — a city
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. spell — a short time
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. shower — rain
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. season — in sport
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. spell — magic
  19. mine — for digging
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. shower — to wash
  23. spell — letters
  24. ball — a dance

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