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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. net — in sport
  8. scale — in music
  9. land — to come down
  10. scale — size or range
  11. season — in sport
  12. mark — a trace
  13. land — ground
  14. land — a country
  15. kick — in football
  16. tear — to rip
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. net — after costs
  19. tear — from crying
  20. ball — a great time
  21. tear — from crying
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. mark — a grade
  24. net — for catching

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