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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 116 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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. cold — not warm
  4. season — in sport
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. fall — to drop
  9. cold — an illness
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. tube — a container
  14. staff — employees
  15. tube — the underground
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. season — of the year
  18. mine — for digging
  19. staff — a stick
  20. deal — to handle
  21. content — happy
  22. content — the amount
  23. staff — employees
  24. fall — the season

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