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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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. band — a ring
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — in sport
  11. fine — all right
  12. cell — a phone
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. fine — high quality
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. foot — a measure
  22. cell — in biology
  23. band — a music group
  24. season — of the year

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