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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 120 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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. face — part of the head
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. season — in sport
  7. sharp — clever
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. bear — the animal
  11. cold — not warm
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. face — to point toward
  16. face — to confront
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. bear — the animal
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. mine — for digging
  22. pass — a permit
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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