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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. spell — a short time
  3. file — a line of people
  4. club — for golf
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. shower — to wash
  7. root — of a word
  8. spell — letters
  9. club — for dancing
  10. bound — obliged
  11. season — of the year
  12. root — of a plant
  13. pit — in a race
  14. shower — rain
  15. spell — magic
  16. pit — a hole
  17. bound — tied together
  18. file — a tool
  19. bound — certain
  20. club — a group
  21. root — the cause
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. file — a document

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