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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. net — after costs
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bear — the animal
  6. row — a line
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. net — in sport
  10. spring — the season
  11. swing — to play on
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. spring — a coil
  14. season — of the year
  15. swing — music
  16. dip — to sink
  17. row — to paddle
  18. net — for catching
  19. spring — of water
  20. wind — moving air
  21. swing — in golf
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. row — a quarrel

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