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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. wound — an injury
  8. foot — a measure
  9. snap — to click
  10. season — of the year
  11. cold — not warm
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. wound — an injury
  14. vault — a safe
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — an illness
  18. foot — the bottom

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