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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. cap — a lid
  3. ground — a position
  4. season — in sport
  5. net — after costs
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. net — for catching
  8. court — of a king
  9. band — a ring
  10. mate — a partner
  11. net — in sport
  12. wind — moving air
  13. season — of the year
  14. cap — a hat
  15. band — a music group
  16. court — for sport
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. court — of law
  19. wind — moving air
  20. ground — the earth
  21. ground — crushed
  22. cap — of ice
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. mate — a friend

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