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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. net — in sport
  4. spring — the season
  5. march — music
  6. spring — of water
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. season — in sport
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. net — after costs
  11. last — to go on
  12. last — finally
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. season — of the year
  15. rash — hasty
  16. march — the month
  17. net — for catching
  18. rash — a series
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. plane — a tool
  21. last — final
  22. march — the month
  23. spring — a coil
  24. plane — an aircraft

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