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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. net — after costs
  4. mug — a face
  5. tear — to rip
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. spell — a short time
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. stem — to come from
  11. spell — magic
  12. tear — from crying
  13. season — of the year
  14. spell — letters
  15. net — for catching
  16. mug — a cup
  17. mug — to rob
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. season — in sport
  21. net — in sport
  22. tear — from crying
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. temple — side of the head

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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