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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. wound — an injury
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. suit — in cards
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wax — to grow
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. suit — clothes
  15. suit — to fit
  16. band — a ring
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wound — an injury
  22. season — in sport
  23. bat — the animal
  24. band — a music group

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