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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. charge — electricity
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. mate — a partner
  6. charge — in control
  7. charge — a price
  8. spell — magic
  9. season — of the year
  10. bank — for money
  11. swing — in golf
  12. bank — for money
  13. spell — letters
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. swing — to play on
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. spell — a short time
  18. bank — of a river
  19. season — in sport
  20. swing — music
  21. perch — the fish
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cold — an illness
  24. mate — a friend

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