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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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468
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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. fine — all right
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. fine — high quality
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. perch — the fish
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. pitch — completely
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bark — to shout
  22. season — of the year
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. mine — for digging

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