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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 120 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. season — of the year
  3. charge — a price
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bat — the animal
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. cold — not warm
  10. charge — in control
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. charge — electricity
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. hand — help
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. hand — in cards
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. prune — to trim
  24. season — in sport

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