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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. net — for catching
  3. season — of the year
  4. net — in sport
  5. wind — moving air
  6. last — final
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. object — an aim
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. last — finally
  12. object — a thing
  13. last — to go on
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. field — a subject
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. season — in sport
  19. object — to protest
  20. field — farmland
  21. wind — moving air
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. net — after costs

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