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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. net — for catching
  3. season — in sport
  4. season — of the year
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. club — for golf
  7. bore — to tire
  8. press — a publisher
  9. net — in sport
  10. press — newspapers
  11. net — after costs
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. perch — the fish
  14. tube — the underground
  15. club — for dancing
  16. bore — to drill
  17. last — finally
  18. last — final
  19. last — to go on
  20. club — a group
  21. tube — a container
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. press — to push
  24. bore — gave birth

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