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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. lean — thin
  3. ball — a great time
  4. net — for catching
  5. lean — to bend
  6. net — after costs
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. pit — a hole
  10. season — of the year
  11. wind — moving air
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. ball — a dance
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. net — in sport
  19. bat — the animal
  20. wind — moving air
  21. pit — in a race
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. wake — a trail
  24. bat — in an idiom

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