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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. charge — a price
  3. hand — help
  4. season — of the year
  5. key — the most important part
  6. chest — a box
  7. hand — in cards
  8. chest — of your body
  9. squash — to crush
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. key — for a lock
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. charge — in control
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. sharp — clever
  16. season — in sport
  17. squash — the sport
  18. key — in music
  19. can — a tin
  20. can — a tin
  21. chest — of your body
  22. charge — electricity
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. can — to be able to

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