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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. net — for catching
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — of the year
  6. swing — in golf
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. sharp — clever
  10. mine — for digging
  11. drill — army training
  12. chip — to eat
  13. drill — a practice
  14. swing — to play on
  15. net — in sport
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. toast — bread
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. chip — for betting
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. swing — music
  22. net — after costs
  23. drill — the tool
  24. sharp — exactly

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