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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. season — of the year
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. lean — thin
  5. ground — crushed
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. ground — the earth
  11. clip — to cut
  12. ground — a position
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. season — in sport
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. clip — for paper
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. kick — in football
  21. clip — a video
  22. lean — to bend
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. cabinet — ministers

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