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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. object — an aim
  3. mate — to breed
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. ground — crushed
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. ground — the earth
  8. stem — to come from
  9. scale — size or range
  10. mate — a partner
  11. season — of the year
  12. scale — in music
  13. object — to protest
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. season — in sport
  18. mate — a friend
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a match
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. object — a thing
  24. ground — a position

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