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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. stand — to bear
  3. drill — a practice
  4. prune — to trim
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. drill — army training
  8. hand — help
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. wind — moving air
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. face — to confront
  13. wind — moving air
  14. face — part of the head
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. hand — in cards
  17. drill — the tool
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. wake — a trail
  20. season — of the year
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. prune — to trim
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. face — to point toward

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