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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. cold — an illness
  3. swing — music
  4. foot — a measure
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. swing — to play on
  9. swing — in golf
  10. court — for sport
  11. stem — to come from
  12. fall — to drop
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. court — of law
  16. court — of a king
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. season — of the year
  19. fall — to drop
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. season — in sport
  22. fall — the season
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. stem — of a plant

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