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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 120 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. spell — a short time
  3. spell — magic
  4. present — the time now
  5. present — there
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. mate — a partner
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. season — in sport
  11. bat — the animal
  12. season — of the year
  13. fine — high quality
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. spell — letters
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. mate — a friend
  21. mate — to breed
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. fine — all right
  24. present — a gift

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