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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. scale — in music
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. lie — to recline
  7. spring — of water
  8. scale — size or range
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bore — to drill
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. bore — to tire
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. spring — the season
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. season — of the year
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. cold — not warm
  24. season — in sport

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