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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. suit — to fit
  3. suit — in cards
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. can — to be able to
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. last — to go on
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. can — a tin
  14. net — after costs
  15. bat — the animal
  16. last — finally
  17. can — a tin
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. bore — to drill
  20. last — final
  21. net — for catching
  22. suit — clothes
  23. net — in sport
  24. season — of the year

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