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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. season — of the year
  3. row — to paddle
  4. field — farmland
  5. ball — a great time
  6. season — in sport
  7. ball — a dance
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. charge — a price
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. charge — electricity
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. row — a line
  14. cold — an illness
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. cell — in biology
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. field — a subject
  22. charge — in control
  23. field — for sport
  24. cell — a phone

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