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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. bound — obliged
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — in sport
  6. present — a gift
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. present — the time now
  10. wax — to grow
  11. track — a song
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. track — to keep track
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. dip — to sink
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. present — there
  18. track — a path
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. bound — tied together
  21. pitch — completely
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. bound — certain

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