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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. rest — a break
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. land — to come down
  5. cold — an illness
  6. club — for golf
  7. season — in sport
  8. rest — what's left
  9. drill — army training
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. land — a country
  12. charge — electricity
  13. charge — in control
  14. ground — a position
  15. cold — not warm
  16. charge — a price
  17. rest — what's left
  18. ground — the earth
  19. drill — a practice
  20. club — for dancing
  21. land — ground
  22. ground — crushed
  23. drill — the tool
  24. club — a group

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