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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. present — a gift
  5. rest — what's left
  6. season — in sport
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. shower — to wash
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. chair — a leader
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — moving air
  14. rest — a break
  15. mark — a grade
  16. rest — what's left
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. present — the time now
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. shower — rain
  21. mark — a trace
  22. present — there
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. sharp — clever

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