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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. lean — thin
  5. lean — to bend
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. prune — to trim
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — an illness
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. season — in sport
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bass — low music
  17. rest — what's left
  18. season — of the year
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. rest — a break
  23. prune — to trim
  24. rest — what's left

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