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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 116 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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. band — a music group
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. ground — the earth
  6. game — wild animals
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. ground — crushed
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. capital — a city
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. game — a match
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. ground — a position
  15. capital — money
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. wax — to grow
  22. deal — to handle
  23. band — a ring
  24. season — of the year

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