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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. season — of the year
  5. stand — to bear
  6. ground — a position
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. march — music
  9. sharp — clever
  10. cold — not warm
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. march — the month
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. cold — an illness
  16. ground — crushed
  17. march — the month
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. deal — to handle
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. ground — the earth
  24. deal — a big deal

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