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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — in cards
  4. date — the fruit
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — a trail
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. mate — a friend
  11. mate — to breed
  12. field — for sport
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. season — in sport
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. plane — a tool
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. mate — a partner
  21. field — a subject
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. field — farmland

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