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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  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. season — of the year
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. hand — help
  4. mine — for digging
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. rest — what's left
  8. net — after costs
  9. dip — to sink
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. rest — a break
  12. rest — what's left
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. hand — in cards
  16. chip — to eat
  17. chip — for betting
  18. net — in sport
  19. season — in sport
  20. net — for catching
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. dip — to dunk
  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