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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. sharp — clever
  3. cold — an illness
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. chest — a box
  6. drill — army training
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. drill — the tool
  11. cold — not warm
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. chest — of your body
  15. drill — a practice
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. season — of the year
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. stand — to bear
  21. bore — to drill
  22. bore — to tire
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. chest — of your body

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