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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. cell — a phone
  4. kid — to tease
  5. net — in sport
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cell — in biology
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. net — after costs
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. net — for catching
  14. wound — an injury
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. rush — hurry
  17. season — in sport
  18. date — the fruit
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. kid — child
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. season — of the year
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. cell — in a prison

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