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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.

Make a worksheet

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 water is too ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. drill — a practice
  3. net — after costs
  4. spell — a short time
  5. season — in sport
  6. key — for a lock
  7. squash — the sport
  8. squash — to crush
  9. spell — magic
  10. season — of the year
  11. net — for catching
  12. drill — the tool
  13. spell — letters
  14. cold — an illness
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. mark — a trace
  17. drill — army training
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. mark — a grade
  22. key — the most important part
  23. net — in sport
  24. key — in music

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