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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. spell — a short time
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bear — the animal
  7. chest — a box
  8. sharp — clever
  9. present — a gift
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. season — in sport
  12. net — after costs
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. spell — magic
  15. net — in sport
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. spell — letters
  18. capital — a city
  19. season — of the year
  20. bear — the animal
  21. net — for catching
  22. capital — money
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. present — the time now

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