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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. rash — a series
  5. rash — hasty
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. net — for catching
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. season — of the year
  10. wind — moving air
  11. mug — a cup
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. stem — to come from
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. pitch — completely
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. net — after costs
  21. mug — a face
  22. net — in sport
  23. wind — moving air
  24. season — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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