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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. fine — all right
  4. saw — the tool
  5. scale — in music
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bulb — for light
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. fine — high quality
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. hand — help
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. scale — size or range
  16. saw — the tool
  17. hand — in cards
  18. mine — for digging
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. season — in sport
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. mine — belonging to me

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