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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. ground — crushed
  5. staff — employees
  6. pitch — completely
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. prune — to trim
  9. staff — employees
  10. object — to protest
  11. ground — a position
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. staff — a stick
  14. object — an aim
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. prune — to trim
  17. kick — in football
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. cold — not warm
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. cold — an illness
  22. season — of the year
  23. ground — the earth
  24. object — a thing

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