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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. can — a tin
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. land — ground
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. mine — for digging
  9. season — in sport
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. can — to be able to
  14. can — a tin
  15. rash — hasty
  16. land — to come down
  17. rash — a series
  18. land — a country
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. season — of the year
  21. chair — a leader
  22. fine — high quality
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. fine — all right

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