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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. season — in sport
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. row — a line
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. season — of the year
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. cold — an illness
  19. dip — to sink
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. row — to paddle
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. wake — a trail

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