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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 120 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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. net — after costs
  3. pop — to visit
  4. net — in sport
  5. race — a contest
  6. net — for catching
  7. charge — in control
  8. pop — music
  9. stem — to come from
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. charge — electricity
  12. bore — to tire
  13. season — in sport
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. race — humankind
  16. track — a song
  17. race — the arms race
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. bore — to drill
  20. charge — a price
  21. track — a path
  22. pop — soda
  23. track — to keep track
  24. bore — gave birth

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