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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. cold — an illness
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. rock — music
  7. fine — high quality
  8. mate — to breed
  9. season — in sport
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. club — for golf
  15. chair — a leader
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rush — hurry
  18. mate — a partner
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. mate — a friend
  22. club — a group
  23. fine — all right
  24. season — of the year

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