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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. object — a thing
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. object — to protest
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. rule — a law
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. season — of the year
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. pass — a permit
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. cold — not warm
  18. rule — government
  19. season — in sport
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. object — an aim
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. pass — to spend time

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