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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — in sport
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. hand — in cards
  9. season — of the year
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. mine — for digging
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. can — to be able to
  15. bat — the animal
  16. can — a tin
  17. hand — help
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. pound — a weight
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. can — a tin
  24. fan — a supporter

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