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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. rock — music
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. charge — electricity
  7. pop — to visit
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. rock — a stone
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. pop — soda
  13. charge — a price
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cold — not warm
  16. last — finally
  17. pop — music
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. cold — an illness
  20. season — in sport
  21. charge — in control
  22. last — final
  23. cell — in biology
  24. last — to go on

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