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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 116 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — of the year
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. drill — the tool
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. rest — a break
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — to shout
  9. rest — what's left
  10. mine — for digging
  11. net — in sport
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. drill — a practice
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. net — for catching
  16. rest — what's left
  17. wound — an injury
  18. drill — army training
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. lie — to recline
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. net — after costs

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