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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 120 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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. cap — a hat
  4. season — of the year
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. suit — to fit
  8. cap — of ice
  9. clip — to cut
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kick — in football
  12. bat — the animal
  13. rest — what's left
  14. clip — for paper
  15. cap — a lid
  16. season — in sport
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — a break
  19. suit — in cards
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. clip — a video
  22. suit — clothes
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. bat — in an idiom

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