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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. mate — to breed
  3. net — after costs
  4. object — to protest
  5. spring — the season
  6. net — for catching
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. object — a thing
  10. season — in sport
  11. mate — a partner
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. cold — not warm
  14. season — of the year
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. mate — a friend
  17. object — an aim
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. ball — a great time
  20. net — in sport
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — a coil
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. ball — a dance

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