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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 hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. rock — music
  5. spring — a coil
  6. season — in sport
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — to recline
  10. spring — the season
  11. rock — a stone
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. spring — of water
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. season — of the year
  18. fall — to drop
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. fall — the season
  24. racket — a loud noise

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