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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  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. season — of the year
  2. bank — of a river
  3. cold — an illness
  4. kick — in football
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. bank — for money
  11. cold — not warm
  12. stock — goods
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bank — for money
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. stock — shares
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. wound — an injury
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. season — to add flavour
  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