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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. pitch — completely
  3. drill — army training
  4. season — in sport
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. cold — an illness
  8. kick — in football
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. drill — a practice
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — a break
  13. rest — what's left
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. cold — not warm
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. sharp — clever
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. drill — the tool
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. rule — government
  22. rule — a law
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. season — of the year

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