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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cold — an illness
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. suit — clothes
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. saw — the tool
  8. season — of the year
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. wind — moving air
  11. suit — in cards
  12. saw — the tool
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. suit — to fit
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. season — in sport
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — the animal
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. cold — not warm

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