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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. fork — in a road
  4. track — to keep track
  5. track — a path
  6. drill — army training
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. net — in sport
  9. scale — size or range
  10. season — of the year
  11. scale — in music
  12. drill — the tool
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. kick — in football
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — of water
  18. track — a song
  19. net — after costs
  20. net — for catching
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. drill — a practice
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. spring — the season

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