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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. mine — for digging
  3. season — in sport
  4. hand — help
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. bound — tied together
  8. kid — to tease
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. bound — obliged
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — a break
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. stand — to bear
  15. kid — child
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. sharp — clever
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. season — of the year
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bound — certain
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. rest — what's left
  24. stand — on your feet

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