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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. rash — a series
  3. face — part of the head
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bat — the animal
  6. band — a ring
  7. season — in sport
  8. saw — the tool
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. face — to confront
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. face — to point toward
  13. cap — of ice
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. cap — a hat
  17. band — a music group
  18. rash — hasty
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. cap — a lid
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. season — to add flavour

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