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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. bound — certain
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. drill — a practice
  5. drill — army training
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — in cards
  9. club — a group
  10. season — of the year
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bound — tied together
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. snap — to click
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. pitch — completely
  19. club — for dancing
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. club — for golf
  24. drill — the tool

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