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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. net — in sport
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. spell — a short time
  5. spell — letters
  6. net — after costs
  7. net — for catching
  8. season — in sport
  9. ball — a great time
  10. season — of the year
  11. bear — the animal
  12. field — for sport
  13. last — finally
  14. field — farmland
  15. ball — a dance
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. bear — the animal
  19. spell — magic
  20. last — final
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. last — to go on
  24. field — a subject

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