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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. season — of the year
  3. cold — not warm
  4. land — a country
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. season — in sport
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. firm — decided
  11. wound — an injury
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. wound — an injury
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bore — to tire
  16. firm — steady
  17. firm — a company
  18. land — ground
  19. bore — to drill
  20. land — to come down
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. net — after costs
  24. net — for catching

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