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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.

Make a worksheet

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 were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. toast — bread
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. cold — not warm
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a match
  8. season — of the year
  9. saw — the tool
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. saw — the tool
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. season — in sport
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. cold — an illness

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