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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. season — in sport
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. net — for catching
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tear — from crying
  7. season — of the year
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. tear — from crying
  11. perch — the fish
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. spell — magic
  14. spell — letters
  15. spell — a short time
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. net — in sport
  18. net — after costs
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. pitch — completely
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. mine — for digging

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