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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. cold — an illness
  3. chip — for betting
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. fine — all right
  7. wind — moving air
  8. fine — high quality
  9. cold — not warm
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. fall — to drop
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. fall — the season
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. chip — to eat
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. fall — to drop
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. wind — moving air
  23. season — in sport
  24. toast — bread

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