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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. mate — a partner
  3. rash — hasty
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. season — of the year
  6. scale — size or range
  7. cell — a phone
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. bear — the animal
  13. scale — in music
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — in cards
  16. mate — to breed
  17. mate — a friend
  18. season — in sport
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. hand — help
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. cell — in biology
  24. rash — a series

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