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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. rule — government
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. rule — a law
  5. mate — to breed
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. mate — a friend
  8. swing — music
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. season — in sport
  11. root — the cause
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. swing — in golf
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. root — of a word
  16. pitch — completely
  17. mate — a partner
  18. root — of a plant
  19. swing — to play on
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. cold — an illness
  24. season — of the year

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