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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 120 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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. cell — in biology
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. pop — music
  7. sharp — clever
  8. pop — soda
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. cap — a lid
  11. cell — a phone
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. pop — to visit
  14. stand — to bear
  15. cap — a hat
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. season — of the year
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. content — happy
  20. content — the amount
  21. season — in sport
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. cap — of ice
  24. cell — in a prison

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