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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. sharp — clever
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. wind — moving air
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. season — of the year
  13. foot — a measure
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. game — a match
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. season — in sport
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — to drop
  22. game — wild animals
  23. rush — hurry
  24. fall — the season

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