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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. present — the time now
  3. net — after costs
  4. swing — to play on
  5. hand — help
  6. squash — the sport
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chair — a leader
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. net — for catching
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. swing — music
  16. net — in sport
  17. swing — in golf
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — in cards
  20. squash — to crush
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. present — a gift
  23. season — in sport
  24. present — there

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