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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. fine — high quality
  3. kid — to tease
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. plane — a tool
  7. fine — all right
  8. season — in sport
  9. land — to come down
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. face — to point toward
  12. squash — the sport
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. land — ground
  15. squash — to crush
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. sharp — clever
  18. land — a country
  19. face — part of the head
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. kid — child
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. face — to confront

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