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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. season — of the year
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. wound — an injury
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. lean — to bend
  7. fine — all right
  8. wound — an injury
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — to tease
  11. vault — a safe
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. season — in sport
  14. cap — of ice
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. fine — high quality
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. cap — a lid
  20. chair — a leader
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. cap — a hat
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. fine — a penalty

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