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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 116 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. spell — letters
  3. band — a music group
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. season — in sport
  6. land — to come down
  7. plane — a tool
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. band — a ring
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. kick — in football
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. land — ground
  16. land — a country
  17. spell — a short time
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. season — of the year
  22. spell — magic
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. pitch — completely

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