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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. capital — a city
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. track — to keep track
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. rash — a series
  9. rock — music
  10. date — the fruit
  11. season — in sport
  12. season — of the year
  13. track — a path
  14. scale — size or range
  15. scale — in music
  16. rash — hasty
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. net — in sport
  19. rock — a stone
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. net — after costs
  23. track — a song
  24. season — to add flavour

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