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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. cue — a hint
  4. cue — a signal
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. kid — to tease
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. season — in sport
  11. cue — for pool
  12. kick — in football
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. land — ground
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. land — a country
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — an illness
  23. land — to come down
  24. wave — of the sea

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