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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. kid — child
  4. spring — of water
  5. present — a gift
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. season — of the year
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. spring — the season
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. present — there
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. staff — a stick
  17. pitch — completely
  18. season — in sport
  19. kid — to tease
  20. spring — a coil
  21. wind — moving air
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — employees
  24. present — the time now

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