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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — of the year
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. land — ground
  7. capital — money
  8. face — to confront
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. face — part of the head
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. vault — a safe
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. season — in sport
  19. face — to point toward
  20. land — to come down
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. capital — a city
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. land — a country

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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