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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. last — final
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. last — to go on
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. season — of the year
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. cold — an illness
  14. lie — to recline
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cold — not warm
  18. fork — in a road
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. last — finally
  23. season — in sport
  24. cold — the Cold War

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