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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 120 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. rash — hasty
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. cell — in biology
  5. ball — a dance
  6. ground — the earth
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. ground — a position
  9. board — to get on
  10. track — a path
  11. board — a committee
  12. rash — a series
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. scale — size or range
  15. scale — in music
  16. ball — a great time
  17. season — of the year
  18. track — a song
  19. ground — crushed
  20. season — in sport
  21. track — to keep track
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. cell — a phone
  24. scale — for weighing

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