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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bear — the animal
  4. season — of the year
  5. rule — government
  6. bear — the animal
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. fine — all right
  13. rule — a law
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. mine — for digging
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. hand — help
  20. fine — high quality
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. season — in sport
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. pitch — completely

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