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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. mate — a friend
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. key — the most important part
  6. mate — to breed
  7. mate — a partner
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. wind — moving air
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. prune — to trim
  13. season — in sport
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wind — moving air
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. snap — to click
  19. key — for a lock
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. key — in music
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. season — of the year
  24. coach — a trainer

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