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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. file — a tool
  3. season — in sport
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. wind — moving air
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. band — a ring
  10. hand — help
  11. file — a document
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. band — a music group
  14. content — the amount
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. file — a line of people
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. hand — in cards
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. content — happy
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hide — to keep secret

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