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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 116 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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — the season
  5. pitch — completely
  6. court — of law
  7. season — of the year
  8. court — of a king
  9. rule — government
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. spring — a coil
  15. deal — to handle
  16. cold — not warm
  17. rule — a law
  18. cold — an illness
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. kick — in football
  22. court — for sport
  23. season — in sport
  24. season — to add flavour

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