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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. rest — a break
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. bass — the fish
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. cold — an illness
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a line of people
  18. deal — to handle
  19. season — in sport
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bass — low music
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. file — a document

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