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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. ground — the earth
  5. swing — music
  6. tube — a container
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. present — the time now
  9. tube — the underground
  10. cold — not warm
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. ground — crushed
  13. swing — in golf
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. season — in sport
  17. present — there
  18. present — a gift
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — an illness
  21. ground — a position
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. swing — to play on

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