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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 124 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 valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. object — a thing
  3. object — an aim
  4. present — there
  5. cold — not warm
  6. stock — goods
  7. chest — of your body
  8. present — the time now
  9. season — of the year
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. cold — an illness
  13. chest — a box
  14. object — to protest
  15. bear — the animal
  16. present — a gift
  17. rest — a break
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bear — the animal
  21. stock — shares
  22. season — in sport
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — what's left

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