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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. ground — the earth
  3. face — to confront
  4. shower — rain
  5. land — ground
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. season — of the year
  9. land — a country
  10. mate — a friend
  11. face — to point toward
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. mate — to breed
  14. shower — to wash
  15. ground — a position
  16. court — of a king
  17. court — of law
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. court — for sport
  20. face — part of the head
  21. season — in sport
  22. ground — crushed
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. land — to come down

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