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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. plane — a tool
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. cell — a phone
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. cell — in biology
  15. kid — to tease
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. wound — an injury
  20. kid — child
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. season — in sport

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