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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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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 were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. squash — the sport
  5. mine — for digging
  6. land — a country
  7. squash — to crush
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. bat — the animal
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. net — in sport
  14. net — after costs
  15. land — ground
  16. season — in sport
  17. land — to come down
  18. season — of the year
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. net — for catching
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — an explosive

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