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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. last — final
  3. kid — child
  4. game — wild animals
  5. last — finally
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. swing — music
  8. swing — in golf
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. season — in sport
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. game — a match
  13. kid — to tease
  14. season — of the year
  15. net — after costs
  16. pass — a permit
  17. net — for catching
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. last — to go on
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. plane — a tool
  24. net — in sport

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