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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. 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. season — in sport
  2. season — of the year
  3. track — a path
  4. cold — not warm
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. sharp — clever
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. track — to keep track
  9. mark — a grade
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — a tin
  12. stem — to come from
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. track — a song
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. mark — a trace
  18. can — to be able to
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. 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