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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. fine — high quality
  4. season — in sport
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. mine — for digging
  8. object — a thing
  9. stand — to bear
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. season — of the year
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — to tease
  15. object — to protest
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. cold — not warm
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. fine — all right
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. cold — an illness
  24. arm — part of the body

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