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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. track — a path
  4. season — in sport
  5. rule — a law
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. rule — government
  8. foot — a measure
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. wind — moving air
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. track — a song
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. band — a ring
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. band — a music group
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. bat — the animal
  23. wind — moving air
  24. track — to keep track

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