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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. chest — of your body
  3. fork — in a road
  4. chest — of your body
  5. wind — moving air
  6. game — wild animals
  7. chest — a box
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. season — in sport
  12. sharp — clever
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. pass — a permit
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. season — of the year
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. game — a match

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