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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. season — of the year
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. season — in sport
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bat — the animal
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. stand — to bear
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. bowl — to roll

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