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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. cold — an illness
  4. season — in sport
  5. rock — music
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. pass — a permit
  9. cold — not warm
  10. mine — for digging
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. rock — a stone
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. season — of the year
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. stand — to bear
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. cold — the Cold War

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