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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 124 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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. stand — to bear
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — an injury
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. mine — for digging
  10. season — in sport
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. chest — of your body
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. court — for sport
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. court — of law
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. chest — a box
  24. court — of a king

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