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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 116 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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. stand — to bear
  4. march — the month
  5. land — ground
  6. march — music
  7. march — the month
  8. land — to come down
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. land — a country
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. spring — the season
  14. season — in sport
  15. spring — a coil
  16. rest — what's left
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. spring — of water
  19. rest — a break
  20. season — of the year
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. rest — what's left
  24. pitcher — a jug

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