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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 116 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. lean — thin
  3. mate — to breed
  4. bass — low music
  5. spring — a coil
  6. mate — a partner
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. spring — of water
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. spring — the season
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. kick — in football
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. wake — a trail
  18. cold — not warm
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. lean — to bend
  21. bass — the fish
  22. season — of the year
  23. season — in sport
  24. mate — a friend

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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