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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. present — there
  4. charge — in control
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. season — in sport
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. can — a tin
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. mine — for digging
  12. charge — a price
  13. kid — child
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. kid — to tease
  16. present — a gift
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. season — of the year
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. present — the time now
  22. charge — electricity
  23. can — a tin
  24. can — to be able to

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