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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. chest — of your body
  3. track — a song
  4. wind — moving air
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. season — in sport
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. cold — an illness
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. track — a path
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. season — of the year
  18. bulb — for light
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. bulb — for light
  22. track — to keep track
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — ministers

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