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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. season — of the year
  4. rash — hasty
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. season — in sport
  7. ball — a dance
  8. game — a match
  9. swing — music
  10. bulb — for light
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. cold — not warm
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. swing — to play on
  19. swing — in golf
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. game — wild animals
  22. bulb — for light
  23. rash — a series
  24. ball — a great time

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